Roads Less Traveled
by Cyblade Silver
Summary: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by; And that has made all the difference..." All For One, One For All, and the roads not taken...
1. Izuku Midoriya: Origin

_Disclaimer:__ The only characters I own are the ones I made up myself; the plot is also my own, but the idea for Izuku's Quirk and how it works was inspired by HLine's fanfic "From Muddy Waters", a personal favorite of mine._

**Roads Less Traveled**

Yawning as he gathered up the paperwork that he'd been working on when Aizawa had finally let him go _home_ for the night, Tenko stuffed it into the bag and slung the thing up onto his right shoulder. Making his way out of the apartment he'd saved up for, Tenko yawned again as he continued on his way to the campus. Humming as he walked the short way to the U.A. building itself, Tenko made a quick stop at the Teachers' Lounge to grab the sleeping bag that Aizawa always made _him _drag around – really, the only reason he'd even been _hired_ as a Teaching Assistant in the first place was so the Pro could sleep even longer during the day; he'd complained to Sensei about it, but the man had only pointed out that _he'd_ been the one who accepted the job offer, in the end – and then made his way into the 1-A classroom that he'd worked in for such a long time.

At least he'd be able to see Izuku again, since both Sensei's kid _and_ Sensei himself had told him that that was where he was aiming to go.

Once he'd made it up to the door of classroom 1-A, Tenko rolled his eyes as he dragged the deadweight in behind him; looked like some of the kids were getting curious, though Izuku and Katsuki clearly already suspected what was going on. Of course, something like _that_ was pretty much a given considering their close connection to Sensei – as his son and that son's best friend, respectively – so honestly Tenko had pretty much been expecting that kind of thing. Dumping Aizawa's slumbering form off behind his desk, Tenko grabbed the roll sheet for this latest class.

"All right, you bunch of low-level scrubs, time to take attendance," he said, letting his eyes rove over the forms of the Hero students he'd be working with for the foreseeable future.

Unless Aizawa ended up expelling them all; though Izuku _would_ end up getting an earful from Sensei if something like _that_ happened.

The sound of what seemed to be one of the desks rattling brought Tenko's attention back from where it had wandered while he'd been pretty much calling role by rote, his gaze snapping over to the girl who was practically _vibrating _in her seat.

"Ochako Uraraka," he said, prompting the _loudest_ squee he'd heard in some time.

"You're the Rescue Specialist: Dust! You used to work as a sidekick with the Space Hero: Thirteen!" Uraraka exclaimed, rocking back and forth in her chair, the desk she was seated at clattering in time with her movements. "I didn't know _you_ were going to be teaching us!"

Tenko forced himself not to roll his eyes. _Great, a wild Fan Girl appears,_ he mused, turning his attention back to the task he was currently engaged in. "I'm not," he said, then finished taking role and made his way back behind Aizawa's desk to fetch the man's sleeping bag so _he_ could finally take over.

"All right, settle down. As one of you was generous enough to point out, this is my assistant, Tenko Shimura. He'll be handling day-to-day business in class," Aizawa said, talking a bit louder than he liked to since the kids were starting to get a bit panicky with the way Aizawa looked kind of like a zombie when he first climbed out of his sleeping bag. "Put these on and follow me and Tenko out to the exercise field," he continued, ignoring the annoyed look Tenko shot him.

_~MHA~_

He'd heard from Dad that Tenko-nii was going to be working at U.A., but he hadn't thought to ask about anything else having to do with that kind of thing. His first thought had been something like Tenko-nii working in the library or something, since his adopted brother wasn't fond of most people at the best of times. Finding out that he worked as Aizawa-sensei's T.A. was more than a bit of a surprise, especially since he was still being his usual bored, snarky self. Still, given what Uncle Toshinori had said told him about Aizawa-sensei and how he acted, Izuku could see it working out.

It was still pretty strange, though, and as Izuku made his way down to the field where Aizawa-sensei had directed them to head for, he shook his head in amusement; leave it to Tenko to find someone else to get along with at U.A.

"A Quirk Assessment test?"

The clear disbelief in the voice of pretty much every one of his fellow students' tones brought Izuku's attention firmly back from where it'd clearly wandered, and as he looked out over the group gathered around him, he smiled. Really, this was all pretty normal as far as he was concerned: whenever Dad would get him a new Quirk, either from one of the Heros or Sidekicks he'd taken an interest in, or from the stockpile of Quirks he'd collected over the century and change he'd been alive, Izuku would end up undergoing the same kind of assessment once his new Quirk had settled in.

At least when he was given physical and more active Quirks, of course.

Of course, considering the nature of his particular Quirk – a mutation of Dad's that allowed him to actually _copy_ Quirks rather than simply harvest them, pass them on, or both the way Dad did – this kind of assessment wouldn't really tell anyone much about _his_ Quirk; that was probably why Aizawa-sensei didn't call on him.

"All right Midoriya, you're up," Aizawa-sensei said, though when he made his way over to the course, the Pro held out an arm to stop him. "Let's see how fast you can switch between your stockpiled Quirks. By the way, how many of a single type can you make use of at once?"

"Well, currently I can stock up three of the same type, though I can sometimes make it up to four, but that's only if I _really_ push myself," he said, feeling the Erasure Hero's steady, assessing gaze on him; really, it reminded him more than a little of Dad.

Which was probably another reason why he and Aizawa-sensei got along so well, come to think of it.

"Hmm. Let's see how many times you can make it up to four, then," Aizawa-sensei said, nodding for him to start. "Make sure to let me know how many of the same type of Quirk you're using before you start each event."

Nodding, since he'd been honestly expecting this kind of thing – really, with as many strength enhancement Quirks as Dad had given him, physical challenges just weren't all that challenging, anymore – Izuku made his way over to the pitch. Before he could start preparing himself though, the sound of his new classmates talking drew his attention.

"Wait, what do you mean he can _clone_ Quirks?" the nice girl he'd met just before the entrance exam asked, drawing his attention even as he saw Aizawa-sensei starting to glare at him.

"Yeah, Zuzu there just needs to sample someone's DNA and he can make his own copy of their Quirk," Kacchan said, and Izuku didn't quite like the way his childhood friend was grinning when the pair of them caught each other's gaze. "He could probably make copies by kissing people, but then he'd-"

A short-range teleportation Quirk had him at Kacchan's side before his second best friend after Tenko could say another word, and Izuku clapped both hands over his mouth before he could've gotten the next one out.

"What was he saying?" Tenya Iida asked, looking over at the pair of them as Izuku continued to try to wrestle Kacchan into submission.

"_Nothing_!" he shouted, feeling practically all the blood in his body rushing up to his cheeks. "He wasn't saying anything! Ignore him!"

"Midoriya, get to the course," Aizawa-sensei snapped.

"Right, sorry," he said, letting go of Kacchan and quickly making his way back over to the athletics field. "Tenko-nii, could you make sure that Kacchan behaves himself?"

Tenko scoffed. "Does he _ever_?"

"Bastards," Kacchan growled, but he was smirking when he said it so he couldn't have been _that_ mad.

"Technically true in my case, but if Sensei heard you saying that about Izu-kun, he'd have your exploding ass," Tenko-nii deadpanned, giving Kacchan his usual unimpressed look.

Chuckling softly as he turned his attention to the course Aizawa-sensei was going to have him run, Izuku concentrated, slotting in his Quirks and turning to catch the ball that Aizawa-sensei tossed to him.

Once he'd finished with the last of the events that Aizawa-sensei wanted him to complete for his assessment, Izuku made his way back to Kacchan, Tenko-nii, and all of the rest of the students who'd been gathered in the field with him. Once Aizawa-sensei was finished putting them all through their paces, Tenko-nii helped Aizawa-sensei herd them all back into the school building so they could finish the rest of their day's classes. Waving to Tenko-nii as they all made their way back to the main U.A. campus, Izuku yelped as Kacchan grabbed him around the neck, grinding his knuckles into his scalp.

"Kacchan!"

"What, you thought you could just sic Mophead on me and get away with it?" Kacchan demanded, grinning as he ground his knuckles deeper into Izuku's head for a bit longer, before letting go of him and then shoving him just hard enough that he stumbled and then quickly got back to his feet.

Shoving Kacchan back as the pair of them fell into step with each other, Izuku turned to watch as Aizawa-sensei took his puffy, yellow sleeping bag off of Tenko-nii's right shoulder and climbed back into it. Pressing his knuckles against his mouth to muffle his laughter as Tenko-nii rolled his eyes and then grabbed Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag to drag it back inside. Tenya Iida – who was a _lot_ less laid-back than his older brother, which was still kind of funny whenever he thought about it – was lecturing Kacchan about making fun of Tenko-nii and Aizawa-sensei while they were making their way back into the school building.

Kacchan was ignoring him, of course, but it was still funny.

The rest of their morning classes weren't really all that interesting, since they were really just the same kinds of things that his tutors had covered before at home – though not as comprehensive as them, since Dad was _scary_ intense about education – but the second half of the day started with the class that Uncle Toshi taught. He was in his Hero form, of course, so Izuku made sure to remind himself not to actually _call_ him that during school hours. He'd done it a few times before, when he'd been an excited little kid, and even a few when he _wasn't_ so little.

It'd been just as awkward every time.

Settling back down behind his desk, Izuku smiled as All Might burst into the room, his cape flapping in the wind created by his sudden entrance.

"I am here!" All Might exclaimed, the familiar catch-phrase bringing a wider smile to the faces of everyone in class. "Coming through the door like a hero!"

Naturally, Uncle Toshi was the one teaching them combat, since that _was_ generally what One For All was best-suited for, but as he dressed in the costume that Mom had helped him to make, Izuku found himself wondering just who Uncle Toshi had chosen as the latest successor. Uncle Toshi hadn't told him any of what he might have been planning, if he was actually _planning_ anything at all. Dad _had_ teased Uncle Toshi a lot about the way he tended to leap into things without thinking.

It was something that Granny Nana and Grandpa Sora had both been trying to knock out of him, but Izuku didn't quite know if it was working yet.

Laughter from right next to him brought Izuku's attention firmly back to where he was and what he was doing at the moment.

"Well, I guess I know who _your_ favorite heroes are," the nice girl that had been talking to Kacchan said, smiling at him in a way that kind of made him think that she'd have been laughing at him if that wasn't rude.

"Yeah," he said, grinning back.

It was true, after all; the costume he'd designed and Mom had helped him to make _did_ look like a cross between All Might and the Hero identity that Dad had adopted for himself: the long, flowing white coat that he wore in his guise as Sensei had been shortened to fall just to the small of his back, though it was still as blazingly white as the one Dad wore. From the waist down, he wore All Might's dark-blue with bright yellow boots, and on his chest he had the red of All Might's Silver Age costume, though the symbol he had on was the red cross like the pair that Dad wore on the front of his costume's shoulders, though his was within a white circle to make it stand out from the red of his costume's top, and rather than being on his chest like All Might, his own symbol was on his collar.

The helmet that he was wearing – again, in contrast to the full, face-concealing helmet that Dad wore to separate his work as Sensei from the work he did as Councilman Midoriya – was the same, blazing white as the jacket he wore in homage to his father's Hero identity, but it had only the polarized visor that protected his eyes, and even _that_ was retractable. Mounted proudly on the front of his helmet, in homage to Uncle Toshi just as the parts of the costume under his jacket were, were a pair of golden projections styled like All Might's hair.

Fixing his helmet in place, then fixing the visor into place so that making his way out into the bright sunlight wouldn't be such a shock to his eyes after the dark hallway they were going to be passing through, Izuku fell into step with Ochako as they all made their way into the hallway he'd just been thinking about. Chuckling as he caught sight of Uncle Toshi in his Hero form – he reminded himself again to call him All Might, since he didn't want to embarrass the both of them in front of the whole class – grinning at them, hands on his hips as he stood before them all.

"They say that clothes make the Pros young ladies and gentlemen, and behold you are the proof!" Uncle Toshi- er, All Might exclaimed, grinning as widely and brightly as Izuku had ever seen him do; at least in the powered-up form that One For All granted him.

There were still times that Izuku wondered how that kind of thing actually _worked_; sure, One For All _had_ been created when Dad had passed Stockpile on to Uncle Shiro and the Quirk had merged with Chosen Inheritance, and the sole function of Stockpile _was_ to grow in strength over time, and even more than _that_ when it was passed on to the next chosen bearer-

"Wake up, nerd."

The feel of Kacchan's knuckles grinding into his scalp brought Izuku's attention firmly back to what they were all gathered here to do in the first place, but he still ended up yelping; Kacchan was _not_ gentle when he thought Izuku needed to pay attention to him. "Kacchan!"

"All Might's just finished assigning the teams, and you're on mine," Kacchan said, grinning in that way that always made him look like he was about to try to bite someone's face off, but somehow _happy_ about it; Kacchan was weird, but Izuku couldn't help but respect his drive, his determination, and his skill. "So that means you extras are _fucked_," Kacchan continued, face-eating grin now turned on the rest of their classmates.

Once again, Izuku felt like all the blood in his body had rushed _right_ to his face. "Kacchan, you shouldn't go around calling people extras; it's rude."

Kacchan scoffed. "Whatever you say, Zuzu. Just don't go into another Quirk-fugue before we find out whose asses we're kicking today."

Sighing, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to try teaching Kacchan manners when pretty much no one _else_ had managed to, Izuku turned his attention to what they were going to be doing. Apparently, he and Kacchan were going to be the Villains for this particular exercise – something Kacchan wasn't exactly _happy_ about, but at least Izuku didn't end up having to talk him down the way he sometimes did when his old friend was _really_ riled – and they were going to be facing off against one of the two recommended students in 1-A, and a… vertically-challenged student with purple hair that…

_Was_ that even hair? It seemed like something a mutation-type Quirk would cause, but maybe his lack of height had been caused by the same kind of-


	2. Zuzu and Kacchan

"What'd I tell you about Quirk-fugues, nerd?" Kacchan demanded, still grinning even as he dragged Izuku toward the building they were meant to be getting themselves set up in.

Apparently, the pair of them would be protecting a mock-up nuclear missile from the Hero team that was going to be trying to bring them in, or to "disarm" the fake missile, before the time-limit expired. Or else they could stalemate the other team, bouncing them around the various floors until the time-limit ran out on them and they one. With Kacchan's Quirk and his own stockpile that _would_ be the best way to deal with them… and, it would be pretty fun, too.

"All right, nerd," Kacchan said, face-eating grin _still_ firmly in place. "Let's get this thing up to the top floor and then go kick some ass."

He chuckled softly. "Right."

Narrowing his eyes, Izuku pulled up the Quirk that Kurogiri-sensei had given him when he was about seven, wrapping the Warp Gate around himself, Kacchan, and the mock weapon the pair of them had been given, warping to the top floor so that they could drop the thing off, and then back down to the ground floor again. Uncle- All Might's voice came through the radio in his ear just as he and Kacchan came out of his Warp Gate.

"Villains, your time is up!" his voice announced, and Kacchan's face-eating grin _somehow_ managed to widen.

As the pair of them set up a search pattern on the ground floor, Izuku called up another of the Quirks, a sensory-enhancement type that Dad had given him when he was five.

"You got 'em, nerd?"

"Yeah, Kacchan," he said. "They're just about to come in through the door, right in front of us."

Just as he'd finished saying that, Yaoyorozu and Mineta came charging right in. The first to do anything was actually Mineta, pulling one of the purple balls off of his head – Izuku watched as another one grew in its place almost immediately – and threw it at the both of them. Instinctively, Izuku opened a small Warp Gate for the ball to fly through, hitting Mineta in the face and making him jump backwards as Yaoyorozu dodged past Kacchan, grabbing Mineta and pulling him out of the way before Kacchan could turn and explode the both of them.

Grabbing Kacchan's left wrist as Kacchan grabbed his left shoulder in turn, he wrapped the both of them in a Warp Gate, moving them right in the path of Yaoyorozu and Mineta as they tried to run deeper into the building. Once the slight sensation of vertigo he always had when going through a Warp Gate – whether it was one he'd made, one of Dad's, or one of Kurogiri-sensei's – had passed, Izuku called up Gravity Nullification.

"Nice work, nerd!" Kacchan laughed, blasting the pair of them up toward the ceiling.

Taking a few seconds to breathe now that they were out of the line of fire for anything more that Mineta might throw at them, or whatever other kinds of things that Yaoyorozu's Quirk could to; he'd seen her pull a whole _scooter_ out of her stomach, so the question of just what her Quirk could do-

"Not the time, nerd!" Kacchan said, grinning even as he slapped Izuku upside the head.

"Right, sorry," he said, feeling his cheeks flushing again.

He really had to remember not to do that when he wasn't with Dad, or at least back home in his room.

The rest of the battle was mostly handled by Yaoyorozu, who pulled out several flash-bangs, a few smoke bombs, and even what seemed to be a _bazooka_ that fired cement pellets, but with Kacchan's Explosion and his own stockpile by way of All For One, he and Kacchan managed to hold them off long enough for the time limit to run out. Pinning them down on the lower two floors of the building, bouncing Mineta's purple balls right back into his own face through his Warp Gate, and buzzing them from the ceiling with Gravity Nullification.

"So _that's_ what those things actually do," Kacchan muttered, as Yaoyorozu stepped on one of the balls that had bounced away from Mineta when he'd thrown them through Izuku's Warp Gate, sticking to the floor and having to quickly shift her balance so that she didn't end up falling flat on her face.

"Yeah, that was interesting," he said, though his own focus was more on Yaoyorozu's Quirk rather than Mineta's.

Yes, those kinds of non-lethal restraints _would_ be useful in more than a few situations he could think of, but the sheer versatility of Yaoyorozu's Quirk was what _really_ drew his attention. Still, Kacchan would slap him in the back of the head if he started over-analyzing anything, so Izuku lowered the both of them back to the ground and pulled Gravity Nullification back into All For One.

"You're learning, nerd," Kacchan said, his grin distinctly calmer than the face-eating one he always wore when the pair of them practiced with their respective Quirks, or when they were fighting the way they were now.

Laughing softly as Kacchan dragged him back to the room that All Might had directed them to come to once they'd finished with the exercise, Izuku looked around at all of the other students gathered in the room with him. Pulling his latest notebook out of his backpack through a Warp Gate, Izuku smiled even as he heard Kacchan laughing beside him.

"You never change, ya nerd."

Ducking his head as Kacchan ground his knuckles into his scalp, Izuku laughed, even as he looked back at the huge monitoring screen that displayed his classmates and what their Quirks could do.

_~MHA~_

Once class had let out for the day, with Izuku having filled out his thirteenth Quirk analysis notebook and started on his fourteenth during the time he'd been watching the rest of his fellow students, Izuku jogged to the door where the General Studies classes were being let out. Looking over the crowd as they all spilled out onto the grounds, Izuku searched for a familiar figure: tall ears and a long tail, with markings like a tabby cat visible on the parts her uniform didn't cover. Finding her walking next to a purple-haired boy – one whose hair was somehow even messier than _his_, which Kacchan was probably going to say something about – Izuku hurried over to meet up with the pair of them.

"Bambaa-chan! Hey, sis!" he called, smiling as his friend and adopted sister made her way over to where he was standing.

Bambaa-chan waved to him, jogging over to where he was standing, waving as the pair of them came into each other's direct line of sight.

_/It's good to see you again Izu-chan,/_ Bambaa-chan called back, even as she and the purple-haired boy who was obviously one of her fellow classmates in General Studies came over to meet up with him.

"So, you two know each other," the purple-haired boy said, looking from Bambaa-chan to him and then back again; now that they were all standing so close, Izuku noticed that the bags under his eyes looked more than a little like Aizawa-sensei's. "But you don't look anything like family."

"She's adopted," he clarified, nearly at the same time that Bambaa-chan spoke up, herself.

_/I'm originally from Rosaru, Shinsou-san,/_ she said, her idly-waving tail going completely still for a long moment.

"Ah, sorry about that," the now-named Shinsou said, nearly wincing with his whole body once Bambaa-chan had said those words.

_/It's all right; it's not like I go out of my way to advertize it or anything,/_ Bambaa-chan said, smiling gently as she purred to try to reassure him.

"Still, that's not the name on your locker, Bambaa-san," Shinsou said, side-eyeing Bambaa-chan in a way that suggested he was both curious and a bit wary.

Izuku didn't quite know what to make of that last thing; he hoped Shinsou was doing all right.

"That's because none of these lazy extras can be bothered to pronounce Bombalurina correctly," Kacchan said, coming up behind the pair of them.

Kacchan, of course, managed to pronounce the distinctly foreign name better than pretty much anyone else he'd ever heard trying to; Izuku knew he'd probably been practicing that kind of thing as much as he could, since that was what he did with all of the other things he wanted to get right.

"You're still being rude, Kacchan. Besides, it _is_ kind of a mouthful," he said, feeling himself flushing again as Kacchan wrapped one arm around his neck and the other around Bambaa-chan's neck.

"Yeah whatever, nerd," Kacchan said, grinning. "You guys're waiting for that secretary guy, right?"

"Yeah, Uncle Toshi's meeting up with us, and then we're going to be heading back home with Dad," he said, smiling at Kacchan even as he looked over at Bambaa-chan.

Her ears were moving, so he knew that she was searching for Uncle Toshi's distinctive presence. Before he could turn and start looking for Uncle Toshi on his own, Izuku felt a _very_ familiar pair of hands on his cheeks.

"Neito-kun, stop feeling me up for Quirks," he said, turning to frown back at the blond he'd met during the specially-tailored version of the entrance exam that the both of them had needed in order to show what their respective Quirks could do. "I'm not using any."

"Come on, I find my _perfect_ partner in our shared exam, and I can't even spend time with him _outside_ of class?" Monoma demanded, smirking in a way that almost seemed _calculated_ to be annoying.

Luckily, Uncle Toshi showed up not soon after that, and the three of them met up with Dad for the drive back home, with Bambaa-chan leaning against him once the pair of them had settled down in the back seat of Dad's car.

Bambaa-chan – Bombalurina Midoriya, though she'd had another name, one that he couldn't remember – had come to live with them six years ago, after the Rosaru Ward had been burned to the ground by a mysterious Villain group that the Police were still searching for even now. Uncle Toshi had made his public debut as the Pro Hero All Might only a month before that horrible night, but seeing the mass destruction and loss of life had also lit a fire under Dad. _His_ debut as the Underground Hero known only as Sensei had been that very night.

Using a combination of Quirks he called Panacea, Dad was able to heal anyone he made it to before their bodies gave out entirely; he used it to help people who'd been caught up in natural disasters, or the aftermath of large-scale Villain attacks.

Turning at the soft sound of Bambaa-chan's purring, Izuku smiled softly as his sister leaned her head against his left shoulder. Smiling softly as he wrapped his own left arm around her neck, he turned to look out the tinted window on his right, watching the city go by as Dad drove them back to their estate. Once they'd all made it back to the Midoriya estate – Dad had had the name changed once he'd married Mom, something about wanting to make a new start for this part of his life – Izuku smiled as he made his way out of the car, following Dad and Uncle Toshi up to the main house.

The sight of Mom, smiling as she waited for them at the top of the steps, brought a wide, answering smile to his own face, even as Dad leaned down to kiss her deeply. He'd always thought it was funny, each time he saw just _how_ much taller Dad was than Mom, but Izuku also found himself hoping that he'd end up inheriting more than just Dad's curly hair as he grew. Being short all his life wasn't something that he was looking forward to at all.

Still, since Dad was taller than pretty much anyone else he'd met – only Uncle Toshi's powered-up form came close – Izuku held at least _some_ hope for not being short all his life.


	3. Life in the limelight

The next day, after saying his goodbyes to Mom and getting a ride to school with Dad, Izuku blinked in surprise as he found himself, Kacchan, Bambaa-chan, and the rest of their classmates confronted by a gaggle of reporters, each and every one of them chattering like the geese they held a distinct resemblance to. Looking around as he and his family and fellow students made their way up to the gates of U.A., Izuku found himself wondering what had actually _brought_ the press to their school.

It could've been a lot of things; he was the son of Councilman Midoriya, Bambaa-chan was one of the survivors of the destruction of Rosaru, and there was also the fact that Uncle Toshi had started working there as a teacher.

As they all came into the gates at last, Izuku chewed the inside of his lower lip. Before he could consider anymore possibilities, one of the reporters shoved a microphone in his face.

"How has All Might been working out as a teacher?" the woman in front of him demanded, nearly sticking her microphone right up his nose. "Hey wait, you're Councilman Midoriya's son, aren't you?" she continued, before he could say even a single word. "Was your father the one who sent for him?"

"No comment," he said, walking faster before one of the other paparazzi could jump out at him.

Feeling Bambaa-chan's right arm pressing up against his left as his adopted sister stepped closer to him, clearly not wanting to be any closer to the swarm of reporters than he was, he wrapped his left arm around both of her shoulders as the pair of them continued on their way.

"Wait, miss!" that same reporter called out, practically tripping over her own feet in her obvious haste to get just _one_ soundbite out of _someone_. "You're one of the survivors of the Rosaru Massacre, aren't you? Tell me, does knowing All Might is working at U.A. make you feel more or less safe than you'd feel if he was still patrolling the streets?"

Watching the way Bambaa-chan's ears folded back against her head, Izuku pulled her closer and hurried through the gates of U.A. even as he heard some of his fellow students speaking to the press behind him. Breathing deeply to steady himself, the way Dad had taught him to do when he was tense or when he was assimilating a new Quirk, Izuku leaned against the wall as he and Bambaa-chan took a moment to rest from their shared ordeal.

"I'll see you after class, Bambaa-chan," he said, smiling at his sister as he gave her a brief hug and the pair of them parted company for the day.

_/Yeah, you have a good day, Izu-chan,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring softly as she turned to make her own way to Class 1-C's room.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he looked out at the annoying NPCs mobbing them, Tenko found himself wondering again just how in the _hell_ Toshi actually managed to _enjoy_ dealing with these vultures. _Or maybe he doesn't; maybe he keeps smiling because he's imagining punching their empty heads off with One For All,_ Tenko mused, feeling a smirk tugging at his own lips as he considered that kind of thing, himself. Of course, Decay would make _quite_ a bit more of an impact on whichever one of these damned NPCs he elected to use it on; nothing like watching someone screaming in agony as their head turned to dust to make an impression on people.

Still, doing _that_ to someone would be really counterproductive… and wrong, probably shouldn't forget that it'd also be _wrong_ to kill someone for annoying him, even if they _were_ just an NPC.

Narrowing his eyes as he found himself staring at a microphone that'd just been shoved unceremoniously in his face, Tenko tapped his thumb and pinkie finger together, then grabbed the thing with all five of his fingers and proceeded to Decay it while the idiot NPC gaped at him.

"We already told you we're not bringing him out," he said, brushing off the palm of his right hand, then touching his thumb and pinkie finger together to reactivate his Support gloves that kept him from Decaying anything he tried to grab with all five fingers. "Now leave, before one of us calls the police to throw you out."

Turning to make his way back into the building, Tenko grumbled under his breath as he heard the chattering of the reporters getting louder, and then the sudden alarm and the slamming of the U.A. Barrier as one of those brainless NPCs triggered it. Those vultures were _so_ annoying.

_~MHA~_

Back in class again, Izuku chuckled softly as he watched Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag into the classroom and dumped it behind his desk. After Tenko-nii had finished calling roll for the day, Aizawa-sensei climbed out of his sleeping bag – still looking more than a bit like a zombie – and sat down at the head of the class.

"All right, settle down," Aizawa-sensei said, sweeping them all with his gaze. "You all did decent work on yesterday's combat training; I saw the video-feeds and took notes on your performance."

"Yeah, you and the nerd both," Kacchan said, slouching and looking like he'd stopped _just_ short of putting his feet up on the desk.

Iida would have yelled at him if he'd done something like that, of course, but Kacchan wasn't the kind of person to listen to that.

"No more interruptions like that, Bakugo," Aizawa-sensei deadpanned, flashing Erasure at Kacchan, probably to make sure he had his attention.

After discussing their respective performances during the combat training that Uncle- er, All Might had put them through, Aizawa-sensei told the class that they needed to elect a Class Representative. Considering who his father was, Izuku found himself unsurprised at the number of votes he'd gotten; the fact that he and Yaoyorozu ended up as Class Rep and Deputy Class Rep, respectively. Once that was all done, Aizawa-sensei informed them that they – Class 1-A, with Tenko-nii coming along for the ride – were going to be heading out for Rescue Training at an off-campus facility.

Once lunch was finished, he and the rest of his class made their way out to U.A.'s side parking lot, where a bus was waiting for them.

Making his way over to the side of the bus that they were going to be using to travel to whatever facility they were going to be using to start their rescue training, Izuku half-closed his eyes and called on his copy of the analysis Quirk that Dad had given him for his seventh birthday. Laying his right hand on the side of the bus, he concentrated for a moment, then smiled as a mental image of the inner layout of the bus appeared before him.

"All right, everyone!" he called, enhancing his voice to carry to everyone gathered around. "The bus has an open layout, so this is how we're going to do things!"

Once he'd gotten everyone on the bus and settled down, Izuku found himself sitting down between Kacchan and Tenko-nii, then tugged until his head was tucked neatly into the crook of Tenko-nii's neck.

"Hey, Shouta, have those guests of ours responded to your text?" Tenko-nii asked, and Izuku found himself wondering just what the pair of them were talking about.

"They've just confirmed; they'll be there."

He'd been under the impression that the only ones who were going to come to the facility with them were All Might, Aizawa-sensei, and Tenko-nii. Thirteen would probably be meeting them at the facility itself, considering that Thirteen _was_ a Rescue Hero like Tenko-nii, but that still left the question of just who _else_ it was who was going to be meeting them when they all got to the facility they were going to be training in. When the bus finally pulled up to the huge, domed building where they were all going to be training for the rescues that nearly every Pro Hero was called on for some time during their careers, Izuku waited for a few moments as the bus came to a complete stop, then stood up and made his way to the front of it.

_~MHA~_

The feel of his phone vibrating, just as Izuku had started getting his classmates out of the bus and organizing them to head into the USJ, caused Tenko to narrow his eyes as he checked to see if it was who he was starting to suspect it would be; given the picture displayed when he unlocked the screen…

"You're doing something stupid again, aren't you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes just that much more, even as he adjusted his hard hat and settled the polarized visor over his eyes.

"Well, you see, things got really hectic on my commute this morning," the idiot responded, and Tenko could just _see_ him fidgeting awkwardly as he tried to justify his latest fuckup. "I seemed like I couldn't turn around without hearing _someone_ calling for help-"

"Yeah, I suppose the great Symbol of Peace _can't_ just leave things to all of the _other_ Pros around here," he deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he made his way over to where Shouta and Thirteen were lecturing the kids of class 1-A; seriously, there was only _one_ person who could deal with Idiot Toshi when he got like this, and Tenko was going to enjoy every second of siccing him on the man. "Especially when the only _other_ thing he has to do today is teach a class."

"Yeah, sorry," Idiot Toshi said, and Tenko almost wished he could be wherever it was that the man had ended up; watching the _Symbol of Peace_ hunching his shoulders and trying to disappear into into his suit jacket the way Idiot Toshi would always try to do when he'd done something even _he_ realized was stupid would have been _more_ than worth the price of admission. "I'll get there as soon as I can."

"I'm sure you will," he said, smirking as he began to scroll through his Contacts. Once Idiot Toshi had properly hung up, Tenko tapped the icon for his Contact, smirk widening the man on the other end picked up. "Hey, Sora-jiji, what kind of remedial lessons would you recommend for someone who keeps neglecting their responsibilities just to go out and do whatever they want?"

"The intensive kind," the old geezer on the other end of the line said, and Tenko smirked wider as he imagined the man's eyes narrowing.

"Well then, I'll see you after we get back from the USJ," he said, smirk widening into a grin as he continued on his way over to where Shouta and his old boss were waiting for him.


	4. The Panacea Hero: Sensei

There was a familiar black and purple Warp Gate beginning to open in front of the fountain that Thirteen had had installed for aesthetics or something, and as Tenko made his way over, he chuckled under his breath. A familiar, tall form in a long, flowing white coat and face-concealing helmet was making his way out of Kurogiri's Warp Gate. Standing next to him – Sensei guiding her in the way he had since the day he'd taken a scared little nine-year-old girl into their home, granting her a Quirk that allowed her to make herself heard in a way that the extent of her Mutation Quirk had denied to her for so long – was Bombalurina, whiskers spreading out in obvious interest as she looked around what functioned as the main lobby of the USJ.

"Well, All Might's going to be here _eventually_, but he's busy being the Symbol of Peace," he said, rolling his eyes as he made his way over to Shouta, even as Sensei came up beside him.

"That man is the height of irresponsibility," Shouta said, sounding even _more_ unimpressed than he usually did.

Given the soft chuckle he heard from Sensei, Tenko had the feeling that most of Idiot Toshi's predecessors had done just the same kind of dumb shit as he did.

"So, since All Might isn't going to be joining us until late in the exercise, we'll just get started," Thirteen said, stepping forward and gesturing to Bombalurina. "Bombalurina-chan has offered to help; she'll be hidden deep within one of the environments that I've constructed, and once you've managed to find her and bring her back to the lobby, Kurogiri-san will move her to the next one."

Everyone agreed to that, but the sight of that cheery little fangirl making her way over to where Kurogiri was standing made him raise an eyebrow.

_~MHA~_

"Hey, Kurogiri, Thirteen said that you need a good line of sight to create your Warp Gates," she said, looking up at the man who'd transported Sensei – she still couldn't quite believe that she and the rest of class 1-A were getting to meet the Symbol of Hope himself, but there he was – to the USJ. "So, I was wondering if you wanted any help with that."

"What manner of help would you be willing to provide, miss?" Kurogiri asked, and Ochako found herself more than a little surprised by how deep and resonant his voice was.

"Well, my Quirk lets me stop gravity from working on whatever I touch with all of the pads on my fingers," she said, holding out her right hand so that Kurogiri, Sensei, and the other girl who was standing alongside them could see it; the girl who had a really long name, and looked like a cute little kitty.

_/Wow, your hands look a lot like mine,/_ the girl with the cat Quirk said, holding out her right hand to match Ochako's, and Ochako had to force herself not to squee; the other girl was as cute as an actual kitten, but she didn't quite know how she would react to being _treated_ like one. _/That's pretty neat./_

"Yeah," she said, smiling at the other girl, then turning back to Kurogiri. "Sorry for getting distracted like that, Kurogiri-san," she said, turning back to the man who seemed to be made out of the same kind of black-and-purple mist that he used to make those gates of his.

"Think nothing of it, miss," Kurogiri said, the yellow lights that seemed to be his eyes – if he had any at all; she didn't really know how his Quirk worked, so she couldn't really say _what_ was under all that mist – turning up in a way that felt, strangely enough, as if he was _smiling_. "Now, what aid were you thinking to offer to me during this exercise?"

"I thought that, with my Quirk , I could give you a better vantage-point to use your Warp Gates," she said, tapping her pointer fingers together as she spoke to the man who'd brought Sensei and the girl with the cat Quirk to the USJ with them. "I mean, you would be able to see a lot farther if you were up in the air, and I could get you there with my Quirk."

_~MHA~_

Watching as Bambaa-chan and Kurogiri-sensei talked about what Uraraka was suggesting to do with her Quirk, Izuku looked around at all of the varied environments that Thirteen had designed as a part of the USJ training center. The one he was most concerned about, of course, was the Fire Zone that Tenko-nii's former boss had been talking about during their orientation. Bambaa-chan _had_ lived through the Rosaru Massacre, and while she obviously didn't like to talk about that kind of thing, he'd seen the fires consuming the Ward during the attack.

He didn't know how she was going to handle things when she was finally sent into the Fire Zone, but he did at least hope that she was going to be all right, in the end.

Kacchan and Kirishima – a redhead with hair almost spikier than Kacchan's and a Quirk that seemed to make his skin as hard as a rock – were the first pair to be sent out, having drawn lots from the box that Thirteen had brought out for the assignment they were going to be undertaking. Bambaa-chan had already been sent through one of Kurogiri-sensei's Warp Gates, deep into a Zone that seemed to be modeled after a city that had been struck by an earthquake.

Or else a Villain whose Quirk allowed them to generate seismic tremors; he'd heard about a few of those from Dad, when the pair of them would talk about Quirks.

_~MHA~_

Making his way into the mess of a fake city that Thirteen had designed for them to work in – he'd asked Mophead about it awhile ago, and it seemed like the place was made to be like a city that'd been hit by an earthquake or something – Katsuki smirked slightly. He might not have known just _where_ Misty Warpguy had dropped Bombalurina, when she'd gone through his Warp Gate and ended up in whatever half-destroyed building Misty had set her down in, but he knew that she wouldn't be particularly happy to end up in a place like this.

She had a sensitive nose, so the dust in the air, even if it _had_ probably settled by now unless there was something keeping it in the air somehow, would be irritating that nose of hers.

"So, where do you think we should start looking?" Hedgehog asked, a confused look on his sharp-toothed face.

"Just listen for Bombalurina sneezing, Hedgehog," he said, chuckling as he started forward into the closest of the buildings.

"My name's Ejiro Kirishima," Hedgehog said, hurrying to catch up with him as Katsuki jogged for the broken door of the building in front of him.

"Yeah, whatever."

_~MHA~_

When Bambaa-chan, Kacchan, and Kirishima came back through Kurogiri-sensei's Warp Gate, Izuku smiled as he turned to watch as Thirteen pulled another slip from the box, then turned back to the rest of Class 1-A. It seemed that there were going to be _three_ people heading off into Kurogiri-sensei's Warp Gate to search for Bambaa-chan in whatever environmental Zone she was going to be sent into once she'd gone through first. Izuku found himself wondering how the teams were ultimately being decided.

He'd at first thought that pairs of names were being drawn out of the box, but the sight of a team made of _three_ people put paid to that assumption; still, he was probably going to end up finding that kind of thing out when he himself was called up to take his own turn.

_~MHA~_

The sight of the tall, sloping mountain towering in front of them as she, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari all stepped out of the Warp Gate they'd just come through, Kyoka Jiro paused for a moment to take in the surrounding terrain, before turning back to her partners.

"All right, I know how we can start looking for Midoriya-chan," she said, once she'd gotten the attention of Yaoyorozu and Kaminari.

Once the three of them had come to an agreement about what they were going to be doing, Kyoka plugged one of her Earphone Jacks into the side of the mountain. The sound of a heartbeat, along with what seemed to be a cat purring – a sound she'd heard from Midoriya-chan when she was happy – brought a smile to her face as she turned back to her classmates.

"Found her," she said, smiling.

_~MHA~_

Watching as Kurogiri-sensei's second Warp Gate opened, letting Bambaa-chan and the trio that had been sent out alongside her step back into the lobby of the USJ, Izuku watched more of his classmates – just two of them, this time – make their way over to where Thirteen was standing. Bambaa-chan was brushing out her fur, and combing out her hair with her retractable claws, as she made her way over to where Kurogiri-sensei was waiting to send her into the next environmental Zone that his fellow classmates were going to need to rescue her from.

He was still wondering what was going to happen when – or even if – Bambaa-chan ended up in the Fire Zone that Thirteen had talked about building when their class was being introduced to the USJ and everything in it.

_~MHA~_

Once the both of them had landed on the bow of the boat that made up a lot of the Shipwreck Zone – and the very thing that the Zone had been named for, she guessed – Tsu smiled as she looked around. This would be the best time for her to show how good she was in water, or at least in an environment _surrounded_ by water. The sound of someone sighing brought her attention to her assigned partner for this particular exercise.

"What's wrong, Mineta?" she asked, turning to look back at him.

"You know, normally I'd _enjoy_ looking for a catgirl – I mean, I've seen a lot of them – but she's so _skinny_," he said, sighing again.

Tilting her head as she and Mineta began searching the ship for any signs of Midoriya-chan's sister, Tsu hopped up onto the nearest wall of the ship they were on. There really wasn't anything she could say in response to something like that, so she concentrated on finding Midoriya-chan's sister. As she searched, Tsu also wondered what the story behind her adoption was.

A cat Quirk _that_ advanced wasn't likely to have spontaneously mutated from a family like the Midoriyas, who didn't seem to have any kind of physical mutations at all.

_~MHA~_

Once Bambaa-chan had come back to the USJ's lobby, Izuku smiled as he saw her talking quietly with Asui, the pair of them smiling about whatever the subject of their conversation was. He'd thought that the pair of them would get along well, after they'd had the chance to get to know each other. Both of them seemed to be really outgoing, and the way their Quirks made it so hard to express themselves in the way that most other people did meant that the pair of them would probably understand each other better than most people could.

Of course, considering the way that Bambaa-chan hadn't even been able to _speak_ before Dad had given her the Quirk Mental Voice to make up for the what her advanced Cat Quirk had done to her vocal chords, Izuku still found himself wondering why she wasn't more talkative now that she actually had a way to make herself understood.

"You look like a parade balloon, Kurogiri," Tenko-nii laughed, drawing Izuku's attention back to everything that was still going on in the USJ's spacious lobby. "Would you like me to tie a ribbon around your foot, so you don't float away?"

Izuku suspected that Kurogiri-sensei would have asked just where Tenko-nii intended to _get_ a ribbon in a place like this, that is, if he himself hadn't seen the long strip of what seemed to be Sero's tape in Tenko-nii's hands; it seemed like he'd folded it in half lengthwise, so it wouldn't stick to his fingers or palms where he gripped it.

"Amusing, Tenko Shimura, but this is hardly the time for levity," Kurogiri-sensei said, looking down at Tenko-nii with an unamused expression that was somehow visible even though the only features visible through the Warp mist that he used to preserve his anonymity were his bright, angular golden eyes.

It was always interesting, seeing the way that people expressed themselves when they couldn't really be read as easily as someone whose Quirk _didn't_ affect their face. The name went for Dad, really, when he was operating as Sensei; the way he could be such a comforting presence with only his filtered voice and body-language. Izuku found himself wondering, more than a few times, how some kinds of people seemed to be able to do that so easily, and he hadn't quite managed to find an answer that satisfied him.

Still, as he watched Bambaa-chan making her way into another of Kurogiri-sensei's Warp Gates, Izuku reflected that a lack of simple answers was no reason to stop asking questions.


	5. Rescue Specialist: Dust

When the pair of them arrived in the Landslide Zone, Shoto looked over at Hagakure, or at least at the gloves that she used to show her position when she was out in the field; the costume that she had chosen for her Hero work. He wasn't really sure just how someone whose Quirk only seemed to grant her invisibility would be able to help him find Midoriya's sister, particularly when she could have been dropped anywhere in the environmental Zone by the Warp Gate she'd walked through earlier. Of course, _his_ Quirk wasn't much better suited for search and rescue.

No matter _how_ big a fuss his old man had made about his _masterpiece_ of a Quirk, there were still some things that Half-Hot Half-Cold couldn't manage. Still, given how badly his old man would have done with anything Rescue oriented considering the nature of the Quirk _he_ was so damn proud of, Shoto was all the more determined to prove the worth of the Quirk he'd inherited from Mom.

"Come on," he directed to the invisible girl walking next to him. "Let's start searching."

"Right!" she said, a cheerful tone to her voice that Shoto took note of, though he wasn't quite sure how to react to it.

Or even if he should.

_~MHA~_

Watching as Bambaa-chan made her way back out of Kurogiri-sensei's latest Warp Gate, Izuku chewed the inside of his lower lip as he thought back over what Dad and Kurogiri-sensei had been talking about. Sure enough, the subject of the all too aptly named Fire Zone had been brought up, but just as he'd been expecting from Dad, he was determined that whatever was going to happen next would be entirely up to Bambaa-chan. If she didn't feel up to waiting for one of his fellow students to rescue her in a place that would inevitably remind her of the worst night of her life, then Dad wouldn't let anyone send her into the Fire Zone.

No matter _what_ anyone else said.

Making his way over to where Dad, Kurogiri-sensei, and Tenko-nii were all standing, even as Bambaa-chan made her own way over to their small group. Clapping his right hand on her left shoulder as the pair of them fell into step with one another on their way up to where Dad was standing. After she and Dad had talked about where Kurogiri-sensei was potentially going to send her next, in a way that didn't suggest any hint of their relationship except to the most paranoid kind of person.

Or else someone who already knew what they were to each other, but none of _them_ were going to say anything.

_/All of that aside, I think it's time I started getting over that,/_ Bambaa-chan said, looking over toward the elaborately-painted dome that housed the Fire Zone.

"Bambaa-chan, are you sure?" he asked, knowing just how badly she'd been affected by the fires that had consumed Rosaru Ward during the massacre and not wanting her to go through anything like that when she didn't have to.

_/I'll do my best,/_ she said, turning to give him a determined sort of thumbs-up as she made her way up to Kurogiri-sensei's Warp Gate.

Mashiro Ojiro followed in her wake, alone.

_~MHA~_

The first thing to hit her, when she came out of Uncle Kurogiri's Warp Gate, was a wave of sheer _heat_ as she took her first step out into the _burning city, massive clouds of low-hanging smoke blotting out the stars…_ The second was the _smell of ash, stinging her nose as she ran through the streets of Rosaru, trying to escape the fires eating the Ward whole…_ Pressing the back of her right hand against her mouth and nose as she tried to regain her bearings, Bombalurina raised her left hand to cover the lower half of her face, as well.

Taking slow, deep breaths as well as she could manage in the environment she was currently making her way through, Bombalurina tried to calm herself down in the way that Mr. Midoriya and Uncle Kurogiri had taught her to do when she was scared or dealing with things that seemed too big for her. Once she'd managed to calm and center herself, and to stop seeing the remnants of Rosaru Ward all around her whenever she spent too much time looking at the fires rather than the unfamiliar buildings, Bombalurina turned her attention to the street in front of her.

With the fires out of sight for the most part, even though the road itself was uncomfortably similar to the ones she'd found herself running – and then being carried – down during her escape from Rosaru, Bombalurina pressed her hands against her face again to filter out what heat and particulate matter she could manage, breathing deeply to center herself again. Whipping around as _she heard the sound of the street exploding behind her-_

"Whoa!" Ojiro yelped in surprise, jumping back, his tail standing straight up in a way that Bombalurina could remember her own doing almost reflexively when _she_ was startled.

Relaxing her left hand, claws retracting as the relevant muscles loosened up, Bombalurina sighed. _/Sorry about that./_

"Yeah," Ojiro said, though he didn't sound like he blamed her for overreacting or anything. "I heard about Rosaru; coming here couldn't have been easy for you. Let's get out of here."

_/Yeah,/_ she said, purring softly in lieu of the smile that her face wouldn't really let her make. _/Thanks, Ojiro./_

The pair of them left the Fire Zone together.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked over at the large, double-doors of the USJ, Tenko folded his arms, narrowed his eyes just that much more as he watched whoever was opening them pull back a bit, then headed over to have a brief chat with Kurogiri. It looked like _someone_ thought he was being sneaky…

"Hey, warp me back over to the front doors, will you?" he asked, after bumping the walking Warp Gate's right shoulder to get his attention. "_Someone _thinks he's being clever, so I'm going to go kick his ass."

"Of course, Tenko Shimura," Kurogiri – who might have been a man of few words, but was more than formal enough to make up for it – said, opening another Warp Gate just for him.

Pausing for a couple seconds, to hug Bombalurina and ruffle Izuku's hair in passing, he made his way through the Warp Gate and directly through to the place where Idiot Toshi was standing.

"Ehh, ha ha, hi?" Idiot Toshi said, squirming slightly – though not many people would have noticed, since _they'd_ all bought into his whole Symbol of Peace routine and didn't realize just how much of an utter _moron_ he was so much of the time – as Tenko stalked up to him.

"Hi, Idiot Toshi," he said, grinning as he made his way up to the oversized dumbass.

Firmly grabbing Idiot Toshi's left ear, Tenko dragged him determinedly down the stairs and into the main lobby of the USJ, ignoring each and every one of the moron's excuses, yanking him along whenever it felt like he was trying to slow down or stop. This was his punishment for being an overzealous idiot, using up so much time when he had prior engagements. And especially considering that they were on a pretty tight schedule for this whole USJ thing.

It was so annoying, but it was also just like Idiot Toshi to do that kind of dumb shit.

Once he'd made it to the bottom of the stairs, Tenko found himself almost reflexively smirking as Shouta turned a scathing glare on Idiot Toshi as the pair of them made their way up to where he, Thirteen, Sensei, and Kurogiri were all standing. He'd have given a fair bit to see the look on Sensei's face, as _he_ turned to look at Idiot Toshi, though he knew that it'd probably be just the same kind of unimpressed look that Sensei gave anyone who said or did something stupid in his presence; the kind that let anyone on the receiving end know that they were in for a scathing, _comprehensive_ lecture on the subject of how dumb whatever they'd just said or done was.

Hell, Sensei was probably preparing one as they spoke, but it'd at least have to wait until Sora-jiji had finished knocking sense into Idiot Toshi's big, empty head.

_~MHA~_

Pressing the knuckles of his right fist against his mouth, in an effort to stifle at least _some_ of the laughter he could feel all but clogging his throat as he tried to regain his composure – though a lot of his classmates weren't even bothering with the pretense, especially when Tenko let go of his ear, dodged around so that he was standing _behind_ Uncle Toshi, and then kicked him in the butt hard enough to make him stumble forward and nearly fall flat on his face – he could hear Bambaa-chan purring loudly as she came to stand beside him. As Aizawa-sensei caught Uncle Toshi up on what was going on, sounding more annoyed than Izuku had ever heard him sound before though under the circumstances he could understand the sentiment, Izuku looked over at Bambaa-chan for a long moment.

She'd just managed to compose herself again, when Uncle Toshi came over to stand in front of them.

"Aizawa informed me of how you faced your fears, going into the Fire Zone after the kind of experience you had," Uncle Toshi said, reaching out to rest his hands on Bambaa-chan's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you, young Midoriya."

_/Thanks, All Might,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring as Uncle Toshi reached up to ruffle her hair, rubbing between her ears for a moment, before turning toward Kurogiri-sensei, who'd just started preparing another Warp Gate.

_~MHA~_

Shivering as she found herself wandering through a cityscape that was all but _drowning_ under a deluge of icy water, Bombalurina ducked under the nearest shelter she could manage to find, even as the frigid winds cut right through her fur. Still, once she'd pushed the fact that she wished more than anything for a nice, warm raincoat aside, Bombalurina searched for the pair of Izuku's classmates who'd been sent out to find her this time.

The both of them seemed to be pretty interesting, if only because they seemed to have the same kind of heteromorphic-type Quirks as she did, if to a somewhat lesser extent.

_~MHA~_

Lightly touching the tips of his right thumb and pinkie finger together, activating and deactivating the Support gloves that helped him to handle his Quirk, Tenko watched as Bombalurina went off into the Environmental Zones of the USJ for the last four times that this particular assignment had called for. After that, it was all over but the discussions of how each of the Heroes-in-training could have done better, considering the conditions and what they'd been working with.

Though Tenko still found himself impressed by Bombalurina's composure; just about half again as long, and he didn't do _nearly_ as well with tight spaces as she'd seemed to do with the Fire Zone.

Once all of them left the USJ behind, Tenko raised an eyebrow as he heard the familiar, soft _ping_ of an incoming text, then smirked as he read it: step right. Taking a large step in the indicated direction, Tenko _grinned_ as he turned his phone's camera so that he'd be able to catch the action about to be taking place.

"Toshinori!" Sora-jiji – though anyone else who saw him would know just why Gran Torino was a name feared by the Symbol of Peace himself – shouted, right foot slamming into the back of Idiot Toshi's head and nearly sending the oversized moron rolling and tumbling into a nearby tree before he righted himself. "Did you forget _everything_ I taught you about responsibility?! Looks like Tenko called me just in time! You _clearly_ need more training!"

Laughing as Idiot Toshi – the Symbol of Peace, the Number One Hero, _All Might himself_ – yelped in sheer terror as Gran Torino hauled him off by the collar, Tenko raised an eyebrow as he felt someone land lightly on his back.

"Granny?"

Sure enough, Nana-baba had clearly decided to pay him a visit along with Sora-jiji, or else he'd invited her along for whatever they were going to be doing to Idiot Toshi in the hope of at least knocking _some_ sense into his empty head.

"No time to stand around talking, Tenko-chan!" Nana-baba laughed, as she held onto his shoulders and actually nudged his right hip with her foot on the same side. "You need to be fast, if you're going to keep your promise. Now, let's run!"

"I'm not a _horse_, Granny," he muttered, rolling his eyes even as he set off in the direction that Sora-jiji had just disappeared in, dragging Idiot Toshi along with him.

Still, Nana-baba _was_ an old lady, and really she wasn't much heavier than some of the supply-packs he'd carried during his tenure as a Sidekick. Besides, the chance to catch Sora-jiji putting Idiot Toshi through his paces wasn't one that came along every day of the week, no matter _how_ many times Idiot Toshi earned the nickname Tenko had given him.


	6. Inherited Legacy

After nearly getting his head kicked in by Gran Torino, Toshinori found himself understanding all the more why Nana had been more willing to pass on One For All when he'd asked for it. Sure, Nana _had_ been getting older when he'd first met up with her – Kotaru had already been born by then, and it _had_ been starting to seem like she wanted to step back from being a Hero and have the chance to be a mother – but now that he'd had the chance to make his own mark on the world of Heroes, Toshinori found he could understand.

He'd have to talk to to Hisashi, of course, since even though each individual holder of One For All _was_ given the option of selecting their own successors, it was always better to have more opinions than just their own when they were thinking about those kinds of things. Hell, he himself had stayed with Nana and her family for the better part of half a year before she'd brought up the idea of making him the next in One For All's line of succession. He'd been happy to have something to strive for, but looking back even _he_ hadn't quite been prepared for the exponential growth of the Quirk he'd been handed.

Being Quirkless for the better part of his life, One For All had been something of a revelation…

Sighing softly as he found himself thinking back on Mr. and Mrs. Yagi – the pair who'd thrown him out of their home for being Quirkless as soon as he'd turned sixteen, effectively cutting him out of their lives just as soon as they wouldn't raise too much of a fuss for doing something like that – Toshinori thought back on what had happened _after_ that: Nana had adopted him, raising him in the same house as her own son Kotaru, and then he'd been given the opportunity to meet Councilman Midoriya in person. Of course, back then he hadn't known just how integral the man would become to his life.

Really, sometimes it still surprised him, just how large his family had grown even _after_ he'd been tossed aside by his biological parents.

_Speaking of family,_ he mused, as the sound of his phone receiving a text went off suddenly, and he looked to see that it was one of the very men he'd been thinking about. As he paused for a long moment, letting the GPS get a lock on his position so that Kurogiri could open a Warp Gate to him, then stepping through it when Councilman Midoriya's aide had finished preparing the way for him, Toshinori found himself curious about just how all of this was going to go down. Apparently, two more of the Top Five had proven themselves stable and trustworthy enough to learn the story behind All For One and One For All; one of the best kept secrets in the modern world.

Enji Todoroki – the Pro Hero Endeavor, who currently held the number two spot with distinction – had always been more than a bit of an enigma to him; the man was standoffish in the extreme when he was in the powered-up form that One For All granted him, but indifferent nearly to the point of outright rudeness whenever he appeared as Toshinori Shimura. Sure, Enji _had_ solved more cases than any other Pro Hero in Japan – possibly in the world; considering the man's dedication he honestly wouldn't have been surprised – but his obvious and myriad personality problems had kept him from rising any higher than that.

Not that Enji was the kind of person who could realize that kind of thing without some serious, heavy-duty prompting.

Once the slight feeling of vertigo had cleared and he could actually take a look around the room he'd been moved to, Toshinori found himself in the old, familiar office where he'd sat down to nearly the same kind of discussion back when he'd first accepted One For All and the responsibility that holding the Quirk entailed. Nodding to Hisashi as he settled himself down in the chair at the head of the table, Toshinori pulled out the chair next to the man and settled down into it, himself. Turning to look at the door, Toshinori reflected on the other Hero who was going to be showing up.

He hadn't had that many interactions with Best Jeanist, in either his capacity as All Might or as Toshinori Shimura, but given everything he'd heard about the man, he couldn't help but think that he was a good fit to know about the secrets that were going to be discussed at the upcoming meeting. Of course, that was probably why _he_ was being read in in the first place.

But, even though _Enji_ had met the requirements to find out about the two Quirks that had shepherded the growth of modern society for basically as long as they'd existed, Toshinori couldn't quite see him as the kind not to take what he was going to be hearing in exactly the wrong way; still, time would tell, as it always had.

_~MHA~_

When he'd gotten the notification that his presence was required for some sort of meeting – specifically a meeting with Councilman Midoriya, the Number Four Hero, and that secretary who was probably just there to take the minutes or something – Enji finished his training session with Shoto slightly before schedule, so that he could find out just what it was that the Councilman wished to speak with him about. He doubted that it was the one thing he'd worked so hard to accomplish, since something like _that_ would have been announced online and in all the relevant magazines and papers. Still, knowing that Councilman Midoriya wished to see him for _something_ was rather interesting on its own.

Soft-hearted the man might have been, but no one other than a _complete_ fool could deny his effectiveness.

When he finally arrived at the office that Councilman Midoriya and the others he'd invited had come to, Enji allowed the Hellflame that made up his mask to lapse, leaving only the meager flames that made up his beard to flicker about the lower half of his face.

"So, what's this about?" he asked, sweeping his gaze over Councilman Midoriya and Best Jeanist; the secretary was sitting at Councilman Midoriya's right hand, but Enji didn't take much notice of _him_.

It wasn't as though the man would have much of an impact on the proceedings, after all.

"The both of you have proven yourselves to possess both the loyalty and the discretion to be allowed in on a secret has been guarded by generations before you," Councilman Midoriya said, and there was something about his manner that suggested this would be something more than idle chatter.

_That_ was pleasing; he didn't have the time to waste on that, not if he was going to ensure that Shoto gained the recognition that he himself had been denied all his life.

_~MHA~_

Watching Enji's face as Hisashi set the stage for his explanation, Toshinori found himself wondering just what was going on behind the man's inscrutable expression. The man wasn't a fan of All Might by any stretch of the imagination, and he hadn't exchanged more than a handful of words with Endeavor as Toshinori Shimura. So, like Hisashi would probably say, this would be a learning experience for them both. The only one whose reaction he _wasn't_ feeling even slightly apprehensive about was Best Jeanist's, because he knew from both sides of the fence so to speak that Tsunagu Hakamata at least wasn't someone to judge solely on his own preconceptions.

When Hisashi steered their conversation away from the matter of his _own_ Quirk – and seeing the varied reactions of Best Jeanist and Endeavor were fairly telling in and of themselves, with Endeavor seeming wary if not disgusted by the very _idea_ of someone being able to take someone else's Quirk and either use it themself or give it to someone else, and Jeanist clearly more interested in the man who actually _held_ that power – Toshinori braced himself for the revelations that were soon to be coming.

"I'm pleased to know that that kind of power is knitted to someone of your moral fiber," Best Jeanist said; if there was one thing that Toshinori didn't think he would get used to when speaking to Jeanist, it was the clothing metaphors that the man seemed to really enjoy speaking in. "I shudder to think of how the fabric of society would unravel if someone else possessed such a Quirk."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, but my own Quirk is only half of the reason I called you both here," Hisashi said, a gentle, amused smile on his face as he glanced briefly over at Best Jeanist where he was sitting.

He got the feeling that _he_ was just as amused by Best Jeanist and his constant clothing metaphors as Toshinori himself.

Settling back in his seat again as Councilman Midoriya began telling the story of his brother and the Quirk that he'd passed on to the younger man; the Quirk that had originally been called Stockpile, and had then merged with the Quirk that he and Hisashi had ended up calling Chosen Inheritance, the pair of them combining into the Quirk that would eventually come to be called One For All. At least, that _would _end up being the name, after a couple more of the people it'd been passed onto had had the chance to get used to it.

It was the kind of clever wordplay that Toshinori enjoyed, though he didn't really know if he would have been able to think up something that sounded as good himself.

"Toshinori," Councilman Midoriya prompted, and he stood up quickly.

He'd been mentally preparing for this ever since Hisashi had first started talking about One For All, and as he rose to his feet, setting the chair aside so that he wouldn't end up knocking it over considering what was going to happen, Toshinori called upon the energies of the Quirk that had allowed him to rise to the top of the Pro Hero rankings and to become the Symbol of Peace.

"_What_?" Endeavor demanded, glaring harshly at him as he stood in his powered-up form.

"Ah, such is the power of One For All," Best Jeanist said, nodding as he studied Toshinori in the form that everyone else knew as All Might. "The Quirk that has been woven together like a quilt, sheltering, protecting, and giving comfort to those who find themselves faced with danger."

_Okay, so it's _not_ just clothing metaphors, it's sewing in general,_ Toshinori reflected amusedly, as he let go of his powered-up form and settled back down in his chair amid the usual cloud of steam. "That's about the size of it, yeah."

"So, it seems you're in need of a successor," Enji said, seeming to have regained his composure. "After all, a man your age hardly has _all_ the time in the world."

That last was said with a glance at Councilman Midoriya, who turned to Enji with a look of subdued interest on his face. "You have someone in mind?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

_~MHA~_

Finding out that All Might hadn't actually earned the Number One ranking through any inherent skill of his own had been annoying enough, and to hear that Toshinori Shimura – the false face that All Might wore to keep himself out of the spotlight that he hadn't rightly earned – had been born _Quirkless_ was basically a thumb in his eye. Still, knowing that One For All – the Quirk that had given a Quirkless nobody the power to rise to be the Number One Hero; to craft himself into the Symbol of Peace – could be _passed on_… Well, that simply meant that, once Shoto had come into the possession of the Quirk, it would be inevitable that he _would_ be the next Number One Hero.

It was in the very nature of the Quirk itself, to grow stronger and more powerful each time it was passed on; the ninth bearer – Shoto – would stand above the eighth, who stood above the seventh; and on even to the younger brother of Councilman Midoriya, who'd possessed such a feeble Quirk as to be little better than the Quirkless All Might. Still, knowing just _how_ the Symbol of Peace – and even the Symbol of Hope, considering the limitations that Councilman Midoriya placed on himself to perform as _he_ did in that guise – had come to be… well, he could hardly say that he _approved_ of any of it.

Still, he was hardly about to dismiss the chance to improve the standing of the Todoroki family out of hand.

_~MHA~_

He'd known that the U.A. Sports Festival was coming up even before Aizawa-sensei had started telling them all about it, since he and Dad had watched it together when Tenko-nii had been one of the ones competing. Really, they still did, since there were always interesting Quirks on display, and it was easy to get into given Dad's position as both All Might's friend and as a government official. It was always fun, watching all of the new people with all of their Quirks on display, and sometimes, when he or Dad saw a new one that they really liked, Dad would write them a letter and ask them for one of their hairs.

Or an eyelash, if they didn't have any hair.

"Zu-chan, it's time to get to lunch," Tenko-nii said, having stopped in front of his desk just before he dragged Aizawa-sensei out of the classroom and down the hall.

"Thanks, Tenko-nii," he said, smiling at his brother as he, Kacchan, Tenya, and Ochako made their way to the cafeteria to have some of Lunch Rush's food.

It might not have been _quite _as good as Mom's home cooking, or even Dad's when he put his mind to it, but it was at least good enough for something he was having at school. Or, at least that was what he'd heard, since he hadn't spent much time in public schools aside from the last couple years, when Mom had started worrying that he wasn't socializing enough with people his own age. Still, before the four of them could make it halfway down the hall, Izuku heard the sound of someone familiar calling to him.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Uncle Toshi!" he exclaimed, turning to see the man peeking his head and shoulders out of the office that he used; the one that seemed to have some kind of secret passage, since Uncle Toshi didn't have a teleportation Quirk and he couldn't really be seen spending _too_ much time in All Might's office when he worked as a secretary for U.A. itself.

"You want to have lunch with me?" Uncle Toshi asked, pointing his thumb back at the door he'd clearly just come out of, smiling in that gentle sort of way that was almost the complete opposite of All Might's beaming grin.

"Sure, Uncle Toshi," he said, then paused for a moment. "Can my friends come, too?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Uncle Toshi said, smiling wider as he led them back to his office.

Making his way inside Uncle Toshi's office, Izuku found himself happily surprised to see Bambaa-chan, and a bit surprised to see Shinsou-san and Todoroki-san sitting on the couch. Shinsou-san was sitting next to Bambaa-chan, but it looked like Todoroki-san would be sitting next to Uncle Toshi when he sat down. When Uncle Toshi actually _did_ sit down, he did end up next to Todoroki-san, and Izuku couldn't help but wonder why it was that Todoroki-san was even there.

None of them had really _talked_ to each other, except for maybe Uncle Toshi when Endeavor would bring his son to the occasional press conference for the publicity; at least that was what Dad said he was trying to do.

"You're Councilman Midoriya's son, aren't you?" Todoroki-san asked, having turned to look at him almost as soon as he'd come into Uncle Toshi's office.

"Yeah, I am," he said, wondering what Todoroki-san was getting at.

"We can talk about that later," Uncle Toshi said, and the look in his eyes told Izuku that there was something that none of them could really discuss outside of the family.

There were really only a couple things that they couldn't talk about with other people – only two, actually – and Izuku found himself looking at Todoroki-san in a new light. Passing on One For All was pretty important, considering that the Quirk had been used to protect everyone, and also the fact that it grew stronger with each new link in the chain of wielders, Uncle Toshi being the eighth and currently most powerful.

"Ah, okay," he said, turning to smile invitingly at Todoroki-san. "Your name is Shoto, right?"

He might not have known Endeavor's son very well, but from what he _had_ seen he seemed like a nice enough person.

"It is," Todoroki-san said, though he still didn't seem to know what to make of his current situation.

_/He's not really much for talking,/_ Bambaa-chan said, tail twitching slightly as she purred to try to put everyone in the office at ease.

It didn't quite seem to be working on Todoroki-san, but then there seemed to be more on his mind than just the potential inheritance of One For All. He was still glad that Bambaa-chan was at least making the effort, though.

_~MHA~_

When the rest of their classes for the day had finished, leaving him alone with Izuku Midoriya, his sister, and Toshinori Shimura – who he could still remember from the press conference they'd first encountered each other at, mostly for the way he'd called the old man an ass while he'd been leaving the room – Shoto wondered just what was so secret that none of them had felt comfortable sharing even a word with the people they called their friends. Still, once all four of them had climbed into Toshinori's car, Shoto was at least reasonably certain that none of them would feel that a _car_ of all places would be too public a setting for… whatever it was that they felt they couldn't discuss in public.

"So, I guess you have a few questions," Shimura-san said, turning to look at him in the car's rear-view mirror once they'd pulled safely out of U.A.'s parking lot.

"Only one, really: what are you people hiding?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"That's a long story, but it isn't just mine to tell, Todoroki-kun," Shimura-san said, with a soft smile that Shoto didn't know quite what to make of.

Still, he hadn't understood the Midoriyas even after meeting them more than a few times, the way he and the old man had, so it probably made sense that he wouldn't understand someone who was clearly deeply connected to them.


	7. Into the Sports Festival

Telling Todoroki-san about All For One, One For All, and the roles those two Quirks had played in shaping the world as they knew it had been… Well, Izuku had honestly expected more of an actual _reaction_ from Todoroki-san.

"So, this power first belonged to your father, and then he passed it on to his brother," Todoroki-san said, and there was a toneless quality to his voice that Izuku didn't know quite what to think of. "And then it was eventually passed down to All Might," he continued, turning to look over at Uncle Toshi.

"That's right," Uncle Toshi said, looking about as curious about how Todoroki-san had been reacting as Izuku had found himself feeling ever since they'd got home. "There were seven wielders of One For All before I came along. Still, even though your father _has_ put you forward as a candidate to be the ninth wielder of One For All, in the end it's still your choice."

Todoroki-san's face stayed closed and unreadable for the most part, but there _was_ at least a spark of interest in his eyes; Izuku didn't quite know what to make of someone so determinedly unreadable, but he thought that it might at least be _something_ of an improvement. Still, in the end Todoroki-san left without giving any kind of definitive answer as to whether or not he was going to become the Ninth Wielder, and Izuku could only wonder what was going on with his stoic classmate. And why he could only see the fire half of _his_ Quirk as rightfully belonging to his _father_.

Sure, his own Quirk was an offshoot of Dad's own All For One, but the mechanics and specifics of the Quirk were entirely his; Izuku was sure that it was just the same for Bambaa-chan, since he hadn't heard of anyone with such an advanced Cat Quirk before, just like he hadn't heard of someone being rendered _mute_ by their own Quirk.

_~MHA~_

The next couple of days, when he and Bambaa-chan went back to U.A. for their respective classes, Izuku couldn't help but notice the way that all of the other students were looking at him and the rest of his classmates with more than a little interest. He'd caught some of them talking about how cool it was that class 1-A had actually had the chance to _meet_ Sensei – hearing things like that always made him wonder how they'd react if they knew Dad _was_ Sensei, really – and others were talking about the Sports Festival that was coming up.

"Hey, partner!"

"Hi, Neito-kun," he sighed, as the other boy practically _pounced_ on him, arms winding around his neck; really, _he_ acted more like a cat than Bambaa-chan, and _his_ Quirk was Copy.

The sound of amused purring drew his attention to Bambaa-chan, who was walking with Shinsou-san. _/He's coming on a bit strong now, isn't he?/_

"Bambaa-chan," he said, rolling his eyes as his adopted sister leaned in, still purring amusedly.

"Hey, sis," Monoma said, grinning as all four of them fell into step with one another.

"You really _are_ a barnacle, aren't you?" Shinsou-san drawled, an annoyed look on his sleepy-eyed face; he really did look a lot like Aizawa-sensei.

"A _barnacle_-?!" Monoma demanded, then just a second later his face went slack, his eyes went blank, and Izuku found himself wondering what Shinsou-san's Quirk actually _was_.

"Walk away," Shinsou-san said, and to Izuku's surprise Monoma did just as Shinsou-san had told him to; still, that _did_ narrow down the possibilities of what Shinsou-san's Quirk could actually do.

"You really didn't have to go to all that trouble, Shinsou-san," he said, not wanting to make a bad first impression on someone Bambaa-chan seemed to be making friends with.

"Your sister told me he was bothering you," Shinsou-san said, a small smile curving his mouth. "And you really _are_ too nice to tell him to go away."

He laughed softly, feeling a bit awkward about the whole thing. "Well, thank you, I guess."

_/See, I told you he wouldn't be mad at you for using your Quirk,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring louder.

"Yeah, but you also warned me that he was going to want to dissect my Quirk after I showed it to him," Shinsou-san said, though the smile on his face suggested that he was actually _teasing_ Bambaa-chan.

_/I said he'd want to _interview_ you, you reckless exaggerator,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring softly to show the amusement she'd never been able to show on her face. _/I also said that, if you were really serious about the Sports Festival, you should've started working out. You're kind of a twig./_

"We have a gym you could use, back home," he suggested, when Shinsou-san turned away, rubbing his arms a bit self-consciously; he really _didn't_ seem to have much muscle-tone, not that the U.A. uniforms would have actually showcased it if he did, but still.

_~MHA~_

In the end, Hitoshi-kun _did_ end up taking Izuku's offer to use the gym at home, just like Katsuki-kun had for pretty much all the time he and Izuku had been friends. The one that actually _surprised_ her when he came was Todoroki-san, since he hadn't seemed particularly friendly to any of them while they were in school together. Still, considering the way he'd been offered – or _offered_ _up_, to hear him say it – as the ninth holder of One For All, she supposed that that kind of thing made at least _some_ sense.

It _was_ a bit disconcerting, how cold he was even when people were honestly trying to help him, but Bombalurina had the feeling that he wouldn't take well to someone interfering in what he'd probably consider his private business; no one here really did, in her experience. So, she just resolved to keep an eye on him, and to bring up any _particularly_ concerning issues with Papa; after all, if Todoroki-san _did_ end up becoming the ninth link in the chain that the holders of One For All had forged, Papa was going to want him to be as mentally healthy as possible. Papa seemed to have the same idea, if the way he seemed to be checking on their activities in the gym more often than usual was any indication.

Two weeks seemed to pass a lot faster than usual, but that was probably just because they were all working so hard, and soon enough they could see the signs of the Festival being set up.

_/See you guys on the field,/_ she said, as she, Hitoshi-kun, and the rest of their class split off from 1-A and 1-B.

"Yeah," Izuku said, smiling at her as the pair of them clasped hands briefly for luck.

Walking with Hitoshi-kun as class 1-C all gathered in their waiting room, Bombalurina adjusted her shorts for what felt like the fifth time that day. If there was one thing she _didn't_ like about the Sports Festival, it was the fact that all of them had to wear their gym uniforms; she'd already gotten special dispensation to wear shorts instead of pants, so there was at least _less_ fabric to rub up against her fur while she was moving, but it was still fairly annoying to have to deal with.

"Midoriya-chan!" a cheerful voice drew her attention to Midnight-sensei as she made her way into class 1-C's waiting room. "The paperwork your father sent in about your Quirk went through."

_/That's good to hear,/_ she said, as Midnight-sensei came over to her, stopping behind her to gently push a pair of sound dampeners into her ears. _/Thank you, Midnight-sensei./_

"Of course," Midnight-sensei said, smiling brightly at her. "You're meant to be feeling the pain of a good workout, not a bad headache," she continued, reaching down to scratch behind her ears.

Leaning back in her chair, purring as Midnight-sensei rubbed her ears a few, last times, Bombalurina sighed happily as she settled back into her seat.

_~MHA~_

When they all started making their way across the field and up to the podium where the announcer – whoever they were going to end up being, this year – Izuku looked back towards the private boxes with a wide, cheerful smile, waving as hard as he could for a long moment. Mom and Dad would be watching him and Bambaa-chan from one of them, and he could still almost _feel_ the hugs that both of his parents had wrapped him and Bambaa-chan in, before their two groups had gone their separate ways.

Looking up as he heard Present Mic announcing their approach, Izuku found his eye almost involuntarily drawn to the waving arm and smugly grinning face of Neito Monoma.

"Hey, partner! Nice to see you again!"

Izuku sighed. "Hi, Neito-kun."

"Aw, I _told_ you you could call me Neito-kun, and here you remembered," Monoma said, his tone almost making Izuku wish he'd been _able_ to forget without Monoma pouting at him in that way he'd done so many times.

Izuku sighed again.

_/Izu-chan, do you want me to set Hitoshi-kun on him again?/_

Stifling laughter that would have been _entirely_ inappropriate for the situation they were all in at the moment, Izuku shook his head and turned to wave to Bambaa-chan and Shinsou-kun. Both of them waved back, though the small smile on Shinsou-kun's face seemed a bit more amused rather than just welcoming. He wondered what Bambaa-chan was talking to him about, then realized that he probably already knew.

When all of U.A.'s first year classes had made it up to the podium, Izuku found himself more than a little surprised to find Midnight-sensei standing before all of them.

_/Ugh, I'll _never_ understand how someone can actually _enjoy_ wearing so many layers of fabric, and all of them so tight,/_ Bambaa-chan groused, shuddering, presumably as soon as she'd caught sight of Midnight-sensei's outfit.

He wished for a moment that he could have spoken to her without it being rude, but she was probably just thinking out loud; there were times when she did that, and Izuku thought it might have been because she _couldn't_ do anything like that before Dad had adopted her after the Rosaru Massacre. Izuku couldn't really imagine how lonely it must have been, only being able to communicate with other people through the notepad that she'd still been relying on when the pair of them had first met. Once she'd went through the relevant medical examination, something to make sure that the new Quirk Dad had intended to give her wouldn't end up making her go catatonic or anything like that, Bambaa-chan had seemed a lot happier.

When Midnight-sensei called Kacchan up to the microphone on the stage, Izuku laughed softly; Kacchan _was_ just the kind to push himself as hard as he could, taking the number one spot was pretty much what he expected from his first friend.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know: no matter _how_ many Quirks you have stored up, I'm _still_ going to leave you in the dust, nerd!" Kacchan said, grinning at him, then turning his attention to Bambaa-chan. "The same goes for you, sis; I've seen your sprint speed, and it isn't _that_ fast!"

Out of the corner of his left eye, he could see Bambaa-chan flicking her tail in either dismissal or annoyance; it wasn't like anyone could tell from the look on her face.

The first part of the Festival _did_ turn out to be a combination obstacle course and a race, so Izuku could understand why Kacchan had specifically called out Bambaa-chan about her sprinting speed. As they all began making their way to the starting gate – or the field just _outside_ of it, since they were all going to be running through the thing – Izuku found himself wondering why the gate itself was so tall and narrow. He and Dad had mostly been interested in the Third Years' competition, since they had more experience with their Quirks than any of the other classes.

When the veritable _stampede_ of students reached the gate, Izuku had the feeling he understood why: with so many people and their Quirks crammed into such a tight space, it was clearly _meant _to be just as much of a struggle as the rest of the race.

_~MHA~_

Before she could get _too_ caught up in the mass charge into the tall, narrow gateway that would lead them all out of the stadium and onto the track, Bombalurina leaped up onto the shoulders of the crowd as they stampeded into the narrow tunnel. Hopping lightly across the shoulders of her fellow students, she turned her ears forward as she caught sight of the bright lights at the end of the tunnel. Flicking her right ear back as she heard the sound of someone else bounding their way across the path that had been created by the shoulders of so many people packed together so tightly as she continued on her way to the opening of the gateway to the outside of the stadium.

Turning slightly, so she would be able to see the person running next to her without interrupting her momentum, Bombalurina purred amusedly when she saw Izuku – using the Quirk he'd cloned from _her_ when he'd eaten one of her whiskers – following a nearly parallel path to her own across the shoulders of their schoolmates. His shoes – without the strap that buckled around the upper part of her foot, and made for someone who walked with _both_ their toes _and_ heels on the ground – had long since fallen off, probably when he first jumped, though maybe they'd at least held on until he'd started running.

Either way, he wasn't going to be happy when he finally made it back on solid ground.

_Speaking of solid ground,_ Bombalurina barely had time to finish even half of that thought, before the sensation of cold wind blowing almost right in her face caused her whiskers to stiffen, standing straight out from her face. She was far enough off the ground not to get frozen by the ice she could clearly hear forming under the influence of Todoroki-san's Quirk – the half of it he _didn't_ have a problem with, at least – but when she leaped back down to the ground, Bombalurina winced, letting out an involuntary "nya!" as the pads of her hands slammed down on the ice coating the ground.

Dashing all-out, down in the four-legged running stance that she hadn't shown to anyone but Papa before the Festival, Bombalurina felt a slight tug on her tail, even as her claws bit into the ice layered on the ground.

_/Hitoshi-kun, what are you doing back there?/_ she asked, seeing Hitoshi with both hands wrapped around the tip of her tail.

Over the wind rushing in her ears, filtered as it was by the dampeners she was wearing, Bombalurina caught Hitoshi-kun saying something about his stamina. It certainly wasn't an untoward sentiment, since Hitoshi-kun _was_ more than a bit of a twig and had the expected amount of stamina one would expect from someone so scrawny. When she'd suggested that he come to the gym with her, Izuku, and Katsuki, she'd seen it first-hand. Still, even _friendship_ had its limits.

_/All right, but if you don't let go once we're off the ice, we're going to have problems./_

Turning back to the track as she pulled Hitoshi-kun along the iced-over ground, Bombalurina found that she was already very close to the end of it.

"What the hell, sis?!"

_/Aw, Katsu-kun, are you mad that I didn't show you _all_ my tricks in the gym?/_ she retorted, purring loudly even as she lashed her tail to let Hitoshi-kun know that it was time for him to let go.

Katsuki's only response was a semi-articulate roar, and the sound of more powerful explosions from his hands; Bombalurina purred more loudly as she heard Katsuki swearing. The sound of a harsh, sudden impact, combined with the sudden rush of enough wind to flatten her whiskers against her cheeks was the first warning she got that something more than her schoolmates was coming. Slowing down, both so that she could stand up and so that she'd be able to open her eyes all the way without the wind making her close them right back up.

_/Seriously?!/_ she demanded, a surprised, involuntary "nya!" slipping out, as Bombalurina looked up at the veritable army of giant robots closing in on her and her schoolmates.

Huffing a sigh as she dropped back to all-fours again, Bombalurina narrowed her eyes against the wind and dashed between a pair of robots that had started closing in on the leaders of the pack; the scent of fresh, cold air hitting her nose brought her attention to Todoroki-san, just as he froze an attacking robot nearly solid, running between its legs once he'd finished.

Turning back to the track, Bombalurina blinked the wind out of her eyes and kept running. The sight of what looked like a _very_ long drop in front of her nearly drew Bombalurina up short, but when she caught sight of the ropes, strung tightly between what looked like the kind of tall, flat-topped stone pillars that one could more easily find in places like Monument Valley. She'd have liked to stop and look, since the landscape seemed like just the kind of place that she'd have enjoyed being, but for the moment she was on a time-limit.

It was kind of sad, but such was life when you were in a race; they'd probably have pictures of the place, though, so that was something, at least.

Extending her claws for extra grip, and flicking out her tail for balance, Bombalurina ran as fast as she could across the taught-stretched ropes that made up this part of the course. The smell of cold air washing across her nose let her know that Todoroki-san was close behind, and when she flicked her gaze over to him she saw that he was riding an ice path across the ropes. _That's something, _she mused, turning her attention back to her own path.

The sight of a huge sign, right in front of the next obstacle they were set to confront – the one that she and Todoroki-san were going to be the first ones through – she nearly stopped short as she read the words printed in huge, bold, _golden-yellow _ typeface: Danger: Mines. Sighing, Bombalurina shook her head, crouching and leaping to a nearby patch of clear ground. Being forced to drop out of her top speed _was_ a bit disconcerting, but she could take at least _some _solace in the fact that Todoroki-san had been slowed down just that much more.

Bounding her way between open spaces of ground, the sound of what seemed to a constant, sustained roaring drew her attention to the forms fighting in the sky. _Looks like Izu-chan and Katsu-kun are catching up,_ she mused, eyeing the pair of them. They both seemed more focused on the other, at least for the moment, but she'd keep an ear out since that could change entirely too easily. Bounding from one open patch of ground to the next, sometimes having to twist her body in midair or land on less than all four limbs, Bombalurina eventually managed to make it nearly to the end of the minefield.

_Seriously, a _minefield_ in the middle of an obstacle course; the things some people do for entertainment,_ Bombalurina mused, purring in an annoyed sort of good-humor. The sound of explosions coming up swiftly from behind her, just as she was still mid-leap, caught her by surprise even in spite of the way she'd promised herself to keep an ear out for anything that might be happening above her.

"You're not getting ahead of me, sis!"

Rising up onto her feet as Katsuki bore down on her like a missile – a resemblance made all the more pronounced by the explosions coming from his palms – Bombalurina threw her tail out behind her for balance, leaned back just enough that Katsuki's palm _wouldn't_ hit her in the face, and then lunged forward to bite down on his wrist before he could reorient himself for another attack.

Once he'd let go, Bombalurina bounded quickly over the last of the mines in her way, dropped back down to all-fours again, then ran flat out for the finish line; at least she _hoped_ it was the finish line, since her stamina was beginning to flag after running at her top speed for so long. The sight of sight of someone running next to her, and the complete lack of cold air that would have let her know if Todoroki-san was the one closing with her, drew Bombalurina's attention to Izuku.

Izuku, who was running on all-fours right beside her; Izuku, who'd clearly been using the Quirk he'd copied from her more than the few times that she'd seen him do so during the race they were in if he was _that_ comfortable moving around on four legs.

As the pair of them drew neck-in-neck for what Bombalurina could only hope was the final leg of the race, Izuku slammed into her right shoulder. Righting herself as quickly as she could, Bombalurina slammed right back into him as the pair of them fought for the lead. The door back into the stadium loomed before them, bringing her at least _some_ relief, given the thought that at least _this_ part of the Festival was going to be over soon. As she and Izuku slammed determinedly into each other, both aiming to knock the other over before the other could do the same to _them_, the sounds of explosions and rapid freezing from behind her let Bombalurina know that Todoroki-san and Katsuki were steadily closing in, as well.

As she and Izuku blasted into the tunnel, both of them running at top speed, shoving and slamming into each other to try and knock the other over or at least out of the way, Bombalurina began to hear the sounds of harsh panting coming from beside her; it seemed that _both_ of them were coming to the end of their stamina at this point. As she and Izuku blew into the stadium once more, Bombalurina reached out, extending the claws of her right hand as the pair of them crossed the finish line.

If nothing else, it would give her a few _centimeters_ of clearance.

Breathing as deeply as she could, as she rose back to her feet again, Bombalurina looked over at Izuku as he huffed and puffed, taking a new pair of shoes out of his pockets before he fell into step with her.

"That was quick thinking with your claws, Bambaa-chan," he said, rubbing the back of his head and looking more than a little sheepish. "I guess I still need to get used to your Quirk."

_/It looks like it, Izu-chan,/_ she said, purring to put her adopted brother at ease as they turned to watch the rest of their schoolmates charge into the stadium with them.

Todoroki-san was next, followed quickly by Katsuki, who rocketed himself to a stop, turning to stomp over to her with a grin that was only barely trying _not_ to be bloodthirsty.

"So, you still had a few tricks up your sleeve, eh sis?" he growled, grinning as he yanked her backwards, grinding his knuckles into her skull as she flailed, purring.


	8. The two Midoriyas

"Kacchan!" he called, trying not to laugh as Bambaa-chan and Kacchan started playfully wrestling with each other.

"While I _do_ love seeing such _aggressive _vigor, now is hardly the time for romance," Midnight-sensei said, licking her lips as she stared at Kacchan and Bambaa-chan where they were standing, both of them now looking at her.

Kacchan looked like he thought she was crazy, and he imagined that Bambaa-chan would have looked at her just the same if she could do anything like that.

"What the hell are you even _talking_ about, Striptease?!" Kacchan demanded.

Midnight-sensei laughed. "While I _would_ love to squeeze the youthful vigor from the both of you, we _really_ have to get on with the Festival," she continued, making her way over to the podium so that she'd be able to address the crowd as a whole again. "The first game for the first-years is finally over, and _what_ a game it was! Now, let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?" Turning his attention to the scoreboard, Izuku looked over the rankings; Bambaa-chan was of course in first place, but the placements of some of their other schoolmates were fairly interesting. "Now, only the top forty-two will advance to the next round, but don't be _too_ let down if you didn't make the cut," Midnight-sensei continued, a satisfied look on her face. "We've prepared _other_ opportunities for you to shine." She licked her lips, and Izuku tried not to roll his eyes; really, _she _was just as much of a ham as Uncle Toshi when _he_ was working. "Now, the _real_ fun is about to begin! The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight. Give it your best!" As Midnight-sensei whipped the cat 'o nine tails she was holding just enough the make it flutter in the air, the screen she was standing in front of began spinning through the varied options again; Izuku wondered if Midnight-sensei's gesture had been some kind of cue, or if she was just being hammy again. "Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is _torture_! Prepare yourselves, for this!"

_/Ah, it's Cavalry Battle,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring happily, if the tone of her mental voice was any indication. _/Those are fun./_

As Midnight-sensei revealed the conditions for the Cavalry Battle, while also putting a big, fat target on Bambaa-chan's head, Izuku sighed, sinking his face into his right palm.

_/Well, that's… something./_

"Partner!"

Rolling his eyes behind his palm, Izuku squeezed the bridge of his nose as Monoma jumped out at him, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Looks like we get to work together _here_, too!" Monoma said, grinning widely at him as he grabbed Izuku's shoulders, pulling him back slightly as he took his place beside him and Bambaa-chan. "Right, sis?"

"You're being annoying," Shinsou-san grumbled, making his own way up to where the three of them were beginning to form an impromptu sort of team.

_/Looks like you're stuck with that barnacle now,/ _Bambaa-chan said, tail lashing slightly in annoyance as she made her way over to where he, Shinsou-san, and Monoma were all standing.

Sighing, knowing that Bambaa-chan was right – he never _had_ been rude enough to tell someone off the way Kacchan did, or direct enough to lay down his boundaries the way Bambaa-chan would – Izuku found himself catching Shinsou-san's eyes. Bambaa-chan's friend from General Studies shook his head, rolling his eyes; Izuku found himself rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The sound of someone else making their way over to him drew his attention, but when Izuku turned to see who it was, he felt his face heating up as Uraraka-chan made her way over to where his team were all standing together.

"Hey, Deku, can I join up with your team?" Ochako asked, an adorable look of determination on her face.

"_Deku_?" Monoma asked, looking like he didn't quite know whether or not he should be angry at Ochako for saying something like that; Izuku had a feeling that he knew what she was getting at, but the words were sticking in his throat with Uraraka-chan standing so close. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You know, like 'you can do it'!" Ochako said, holding up both fists like she was the winner of some kind of fighting competition.

"Oh, _dekiru_, I get it," Monoma said, grin returning to his face as he and Ochako continued speaking to each other. Monoma looked over at him, grinning as he caught sight of the blush that Izuku knew he was sporting. "Still, I don't think my partner is going to do so well with a cute girl on our team; one that's not his sister, anyway."

"Neito-kun, that's…! I mean," he said, trying to grab hold of his thoughts, even as they slipped away from him as quickly as they came when Ochako turned back to him with that cute look of interest on her face.

_/Izu-chan, you really are hopeless, sometimes,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring amusedly as she came over to stand with the rest of their team as they all gathered together.

Midnight-sensei announced that time for them all to pick their teams was starting to run out, so he, Shinsou-san, Bambaa-chan, and Monoma assembled the team they'd been working on since the next competition had been announced. In the end, he was the one chosen to be the rider, since with his array of Quirks he'd be the best-suited to keep their points – a daunting _10,000,335_ of them – from falling into the hands of any of the teams who were going to be competing against them. Once the timer had fully counted down, releasing them all into the next stage of the Sports Festival.

Concentrating, Izuku called up his Gravity Nullification Quirk.

"Everyone, jump!" he called out to his friends, and Monoma.

Once they were safely in the air, Izuku let himself relax, just a little; even though they _would_ only have to keep out of the reach of all of their schoolmates for fifteen minutes, there _was_ always the chance that Kacchan or someone else would be able to make it up to where they were in an effort to steal the headband he was wearing.

"Here, Neito-kun," he said, pressing his left hand against Monoma's left cheek, holding Kacchan's Quirk in that strange place between passing it off and letting it lie dormant within the greater whole of his own All For One. "We need maneuverability."

"Sure thing, partner!" Monoma called back, and Izuku looked down briefly to see Monoma's grin; he returned it with a thumbs up and a smile.

Sure, Monoma might have been more than a bit overbearing sometimes, but he was just as much one of Izuku's friends as Kacchan.

_/Izu-chan! There's something coming up from the ground on our right!/_

"Neito-kun!"

"Got it, partner!"

As Monoma swung them around, getting their team out of the path of what turned out to be one of Mineta's sticky balls, Izuku made sure to keep an eye out for anything else that might be able to come up after them while they were in the air. Bambaa-chan's eyes – like any cat's; something he'd read up on a lot when Dad had adopted her – were more attuned for seeing motion than anyone without some kind of vision-enhancing Quirk or other, so Izuku knew he would be able to count on her to spot anything else that might be coming up from the ground to threaten them.

Almost before he'd finished that thought, however, something long and pink shot up into the sky from their right – the same exact position that Mineta's ball had come from, in fact – while at the same time _Kacchan_ came blasting in like a rocket from in front of them.

"You're not getting away so easy, nerd!"

"Neito!"

"Woah!"

Chest heaving as he panted in surprise, Izuku braced himself against the sudden lurch as Monoma blasted them backwards, hoping that they would at least be far enough out of range of Kacchan's explosions that he wouldn't be able to reach them before he had to let up on those explosions of his. Out of the corner of his right eye he could see whatever pink thing had lashed out at them yanking itself back down into wherever it had first come from. Still, for the most part he had to keep his eyes on Kacchan, even as his old friend fell back down to the ground.

Before Kacchan could lift off again, an actual _mountain_ of ice exploded up from the ground, with Todoroki-san and his team riding on top of it.

"Looks like you _could_ stay up there longer than I thought," Todoroki-san said, his stoic tone sounding sharper than Izuku had ever heard it before. "But I'll be taking that now."

_/Watch out, Izu-chan, he's not the only one we have to worry about,/_ Bambaa-chan said, and Izuku knew that if he could look over to see her, he'd have seen her tail twitching with the same anxiety that he could hear in her mental voice.

Looking down at the ice mountain that Todoroki-san was standing on top of, he could see that Ochako was blasting towards him on some kind of _jetpack_, and when he looked down to the team that she'd presumably been working with, he saw some other girl with thickly-curled pink hair, who was holding some kind of grapple-gun that she'd clearly used to scale the ice mountain that Todoroki-san had created in nearly an instant. Monoma blasted their team back as Ochako blasted forward on a course to intercept his team, and Izuku shuddered.

There was a look of such complete, fierce determination on her face, and even as he called up Kurogiri-sensei's Quirk and sent her to the other side of the arena, Izuku still found himself remembering it. Still, he couldn't think about that anymore, since Todoroki-san was throwing up a barrage of ice at him, and it looked like Kaminari-san was holding out some kind of lightning rod or something. Calling up the first Quirk that Dad had given him, the one that had first revealed what Izuku's own Quirk was capable of, Izuku melted the jagged ice with his Dragon's Breath Quirk.

Monoma maneuvered them out of the way of a blast of directed lightning from Kaminari-san, and as he pressed his left hand to Monoma's left cheek, refreshing his friend's copy of Kacchan's Quirk, the sound of Ochako's jetpack drew his attention back to her again. Bracing himself as Monoma blasted them out of the way of the heavy, weighted _net_ that Ochako fired at them – the Support course girl that she'd partnered with had clearly come prepared for more than a few odd scenarios, something that Izuku really would have respected more if he hadn't found himself on entirely the wrong end of it – Izuku whipped his head around and melted yet another barrage of Todoroki-san's ice with his Dragon's Breath Quirk.

Given the fact that he'd had to refresh Monoma's Quirk twice, Izuku knew that he'd only have to keep defending his team's headband for five more minutes; it was _one_ thing to be grateful for, at least.

The barrage of jagged ice missiles that Todoroki-san filled the air with him forced Izuku to call up Air Cannon, adding in an enhancer Quirk to improve the power output, or else risk drying out his throat too much with Dragon's Breath. With Monoma swinging them around in the air, letting them dodge out of the way of Ochako on her jetpack, Kacchan as he rocketed at them with his explosions, and Todoroki-san's ice barrage, even as he knocked more than a few of them aside with his enhanced Air Cannon.

The sound of Present Mic-sensei's shout that signaled the end of the second round, just as he could see Monoma turning to look back at him, prompted Izuku to sigh deeply in relief.

"All right, I'm taking us back down," he said, looking around at the other members of his team with a wide, pleased smile; all of them had worked really well, down to Shinsou-kun and Bambaa-chan acting as lookouts for all of the other teams that might have been able to attack them even while they were in the air. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

Bringing them slowly back to stand on the arena floor, Izuku let Gravity Nullification settle back into the greater whole of his own All For One, sighing again as he climbed down from his friends' and his sister's shoulders. Blushing as his empty stomach chose right then to make its displeasure known, Izuku took at least _some_ comfort in the knowledge that Present Mic-sensei had said that they'd all be breaking for lunch before they got into anything else.

"Midoriya," Todoroki-san called, just as he'd finished saying his farewells to Shinsou-kun and Monoma.

"Oh, Todoroki-san, I was just going to go looking for you," he said, turning to face his classmate as Bambaa-chan came up to stand beside him. "Would you like to have lunch with us?"

"All right," Todoroki-san said, though he sounded more uncertain than Izuku would have liked.

Still, maybe they would be able to help him with that; Mom was the best, and Dad was good at seeing when people needed help. Bambaa-chan was looking over at him, and from the way she was slightly twitching her fingers in her pocket, Izuku knew that she was thinking about wrapping her left arm around his shoulders to comfort him, but she also seemed to be studying the way he moved, a lot like the way Dad did when _he_ was trying to determine the best way to help someone with whatever was causing _them_ problems.

In the end, though, Bambaa-chan patted him on the back, and the three of them kept walking toward the lunch area.

_~MHA~_

Watching Midoriya and his sister interact with their family, Shoto found himself almost _wanting _to be a member; almost wishing that he _could_ accept All Might's offer to inherit Midoriya's father's Quirk. If only _Endeavor_ hadn't been the one to suggest it…

"Wait, what do you mean, you're planning to withdraw?" he asked, in response to what he'd just heard Midoriya's sister saying.

_/I've never really been interested in being a hero,/_ Midoriya's sister said, shrugging her thin shoulders. _/That's why I applied for General Studies in the first place: they have a great mathematics program, and I could still be close to Izuku, too. Really, I've always dreamed of being a pilot./_

"And, you're all right with this?" he asked, turning to look at Midoriya's father; the white-haired man raised an eyebrow at him, a considering expression on his face.

"Shoto-kun, are you having trouble at home?" Midoriya's father asked, turning to him with an earnest expression of worry, though he could still see a hint of calculation in the man's red eyes.

Shoto didn't know quite what to say to that; Midoriya's father _had_ helped Touya become legally emancipated, but there was still the thought of Endeavor and what _he_ wanted. Even more than to see Shoto use _his_ Fire Quirk, Endeavor wanted him to inherit One For All. Even though it _was_ a power that Midoriya's father had created, he couldn't go along with what his father wanted.

He _wouldn't_ become the kind of person Endeavor wanted him to be.

"I'm all right, I just have a lot on my mind," he said, turning slightly as Midoriya's mother reached out to him, Midoriya laughing as she gently wiped away something from his left cheek.

There _was_ a part of him that wanted to join up with this family, to accept the Quirk that Midoriya's father had created, passing down through however many generations until All Might had taken it up; still, he would _never_ become the kind of person Endeavor wanted him to be.


	9. Forward, to victory

When their lunch break had ended, Izuku still found Todoroki-san following along beside him as he made his way back to the arena, knowing that all of them would be called back for the competition for the people who hadn't made it into the final round of the Sports Festival, and then the final round itself, and not .

"Todoroki, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, knowing that Dad had already asked just the same kind of question, but also remembering that Todoroki-san hadn't actually given Dad any kind of definitive answer.

He knew that Dad had noticed, too, and was probably looking into some way that he'd be able to help Todoroki-san even now; Dad had always liked to fix people, and Izuku tried as best as he could to follow in his footsteps with that.

"I'm fine, Midoriya. It's just," Todoroki-san paused for a lingering moment. "Your family is so different from mine."

_That's not a bad thing, is it?_ Izuku almost wanted to ask, but since he didn't know how Todoroki-san would react to hearing that, he didn't say anything; nothing like _that_, anyway. "Well, if you _do_ decide to take on One For All, me and Bambaa-chan would be able to call you Shoto-nii," he said.

_~MHA~_

_Maybe I shouldn't have left so quickly,_ was all Shoto could remember thinking, even as he moved hurriedly through the halls of U.A.'s Sports Festival arena. Yes, he knew that Midoriya had just wanted to comfort him – really, that seemed to be what Midoriya's entire _family_ was trying to do, with Midoriya and his father simply being the most prominent examples – but finding himself surrounded by the kindness and caring of the Midoriya family… No, if he was going to keep to his resolve, if he was _truly_ going to refuse the Quirk that Endeavor wanted him to take up, he was going to have to stay away from Midoriya and his family.

_Both_ Midoriyas, it seemed.

"I think I would have liked that," he muttered, into the lonely silence of the empty hallway he now stood in.

_~MHA~_

Thinking back on the conversation that he and Endeavor had had, while the competitors had been eating lunch and preparing themselves physically and mentally for the next round of the Sports Festival – at least the ones who'd be competing, he mused, remembering that Midoriya-chan had decided not to go through with the final round – Toshinori found himself more than a little unnerved about the topic their conversation had ended on. Sure, he hadn't actually _said_ anything, but the fact that Endeavor had been almost eager to bring up the subject…

The fact that One For All _could_ be transferred involuntarily was for the most part immaterial, in light of the fact that Endeavor had asked about it in the first place; there weren't many good reasons for someone to ask after that kind of information, and nearly _none_ of them were innocent.

Endeavor hadn't been _remotely_ pleased about essentially being blown off when he'd been attempting his interrogation, but Toshinori found that he couldn't bring himself to feel anything more than a mild sort of annoyance when he thought back on it. He still needed to talk to Hisashi about everything that Endeavor had said and done, but he'd have still needed to do that kind of thing even if their conversation _had_ been more innocuous. After all, while it _could_ be done in the heat of the moment or under duress, it'd always been best to handle the passing of One For All as smoothly and calmly as possible.

Really, he didn't know how anyone who hadn't been prepared beforehand would even _handle_ the Quirk…

_~MHA~_

Staring in the direction that Todoroki-san had gone when he left, so abruptly after Izuku had tried to lighten the tension he'd clearly been under, Izuku couldn't help but wonder if he'd said something wrong after all. The sound of footsteps coming up from behind him and a bit off to his left drew his attention just as he'd started working himself up to go after Todoroki-san so that he could clear up whatever misunderstanding had come up between them.

"Shinsou-kun," he said, turning to see Bambaa-chan's friend as the other boy came up to him.

"So, it looks like we're going to be facing off next," Shinsou-kun said, and there was an unreadable sort of expression on his face.

Izuku was starting to wonder if he should ask Dad for a mind-reading Quirk, so he could actually manage to _help_ people like Shinsou-kun and Todoroki-san; still, even though Dad _had_ been working to remove the sigma against people with Quirks like that from the law, he'd often said himself that even _he_ couldn't change human nature. A lot of people would be nervous around him, maybe even scared, if they knew Dad had given him a Quirk like that.

Or really, if they found out that Dad could take Quirks from _anyone_, and not just from him; _everyone _would probably be scared of Dad, if that ever happened.

"Yeah, it looks like we are," he said, drawing himself up and offering both his right hand and a wide, cheerful smile, just the way Uncle Toshi did when _he_ wanted to reassure someone. "Let's both do our best, all right?"

"Right," Shinsou-kun said, a slight smile appearing slowly on his face, too.

The pair of them went their separate ways after that, each headed to the exit that would take them to their individual positions in the ring they were going to be fighting in when the tournament portion – the _final_ portion – of the Sports Festival, and as Izuku continued on his way down the hallway to the main arena, the sounds of more people approaching drew his attention. Smiling, since he recognized the tread of someone tall wearing hard-soled dress shoes, Izuku turned around with a big, wide grin on his face.

"Hi, Dad! Uncle Toshi! It's great to see you guys again!" he called, then leaped forward to envelop Dad in a full-body hug, wrapping both arms and legs around Dad's waist, even as Dad swung him around, laughing.

"You did _very_ well in the preliminary rounds, Izuku," Dad said, wrapping Izuku up in his arms so the both of them could cuddle closer; over Dad's right shoulder he could see Uncle Toshi snapping a picture, probably of him and Dad when they'd had their noses together.

Uncle Toshi and Granny Nana were always doing funny things like that.

After Dad had put him down, and Uncle Toshi had offered his own congratulations and well-wishes for the next part of the Sports Festival, Izuku made his way back out of the hallway and down to the ring. Shinsou-kun was making his own way up the path that would take him up onto the same ring that Izuku himself was making his way up to.

_~MHA~_

Looking over at Izuku as the boy from Class 1-A – the one person in the Hero Course who Hitoshi could truly, honestly call a friend – waved to him with a cheerful smile on his face, Hitoshi waved back and smiled as best as he could. _Izuku Midoriya; of all the people I could have ended up facing in the first round of this tournament, it had to be you,_ he mused, continuing to smile as best he could, even as he found himself feeling more and more uncertain about just what it was that he was going to have to do if he wanted a decisive win in this match.

He'd said himself that if someone knew what they wanted their future to hold, then they couldn't worry about what other people thought of them, but _this_… So many times before, from so many people that he'd long since stopped counting, he'd heard that his Quirk would be perfect for a Villain; that it was criminal, dangerous, and what did _that_ kind of Quirk say about _him_, then. Hitoshi had heard it all, and had long since taught himself to ignore it.

And yet, standing before one of the only true friends he'd ever made, Hitoshi found himself remembering all of that all over again; because what else _would_ a Villain do but betray the person they'd gotten close to? Someone who'd helped him, who'd been nothing but kind to him; someone who'd even gone so far as to offer to let him come to their home again… That _was_ just the kind of thing a Villain would do.

Hitoshi wasn't a Villain, so there was only one thing he really _could_ do, now…

Setting his stance, Hitoshi locked hands with Midoriya when the pair of them met in the center of the ring.

"Shinsou-kun, widen your stance, you're off-balance again," Midoriya said, as Hitoshi felt himself being shoved backwards, even as he tried to dig his heels into the concrete of the ring below them.

_You're even trying to help me here, Midoriya,_ he mused, almost wanting to laugh; really, he wouldn't have thought this kind of thing was even possible, before he'd met Midoriya's sister, and then Midoriya himself in turn. Widening and then resetting his stance, Hitoshi found that he couldn't quite keep himself from saying _something_; he at least tried to keep it quiet: "Why did you have to be so nice?"

"Huh?"

Raising his head slightly, even as he found himself pushed inexorably backwards by Midoriya's sheer strength, Hitoshi found that he couldn't quite stop himself from chuckling, even if it _was_ just loud enough for him and Midoriya to hear. "Your sister was right: I _am_ a scrawny little twig."

"You've made progress, Shinsou-kun, don't be so down on yourself," Midoriya said, as the two of them continued to strive against each other, with Hitoshi feeling himself steadily driven backwards nearly two steps with every single step that Midoriya took.

"Yeah, but now I'm at the end of my stamina, and you're going to shove me out of the ring anyway," he said, as he felt himself being shoved steadily backwards; looking back over his left shoulder, Hitoshi saw that the edge of the ring was indeed coming up behind him.

"Well, you could always come back to my family's gym and work on that," Midoriya said, smiling at him even as he continued shoving Hitoshi toward the edge of the ring.

"Yeah, I guess I could," he said, as Midoriya shoved him over the boundary line and Midnight called the match. "Thank you, Izuku Midoriya."

"I'll help you set up a training-regimen, Shinsou-kun!" Izuku said, holding up both thumbs and grinning at him.

"I'll work hard to follow it, then, Izuku," he said, smiling slightly as he returned his friend's thumb-up, though he couldn't quite muster up the same amount of enthusiasm.

He really _had_ wanted to win, at least _one_ round of the tournament.

_~MHA~_

As he made his way down the hallway, Shoto narrowed his eyes as he saw the familiar, unwelcome flicker of Endeavor's Hellflame.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded, glaring at the man, even as he continued determinedly on his way out; he still had a round to win.

One more round, and then he'd be facing off against Izuku Midoriya; he wondered how Midoriya's father would react, watching them fight.

"You're not acting rationally, Shoto," Endeavor snapped, and out of the corner of his right eye Shoto could see the man narrowing his own eyes. "This is the chance of a lifetime; you'll be able to surpass even All Might. Once you gain the power of One For All, you will _truly_ become my greatest masterpiece. With that power, you will _more_ than live up to the reason I created you."

"Is _that_ all you came here to say to me?!" Shoto demanded, more furious than he could ever properly remember being at Endeavor's callous disregard for anything but his own ambitions.

Yes, there _was_ a part of him that _wanted _to take Hisashi Midoriya's Quirk and make it a part of him – a part of him that seemed to grow stronger with every interaction he had with the man – to become a part of the family, the way that all three of the Midoriyas that he'd interacted with all seemed to be offering. Still, even in spite of the way that Midoriya's father almost reminded Shoto of his own mother – though _his_ white hair was a more unrefined dandelion puff, in contrast to Rei Todoroki's elegant snowfall – he wasn't _about_ to give Endeavor the satisfaction of going through with _any_ plans _that man_ had made for him.

Whether it was using that damned Fire Quirk of his, or inheriting One For All so that Endeavor could ride his coattails to undeserved fame.

As he continued on his way to the arena where he would be facing off against Hanta Sero – a stepping-stone on his way to testing himself against Izuku Midoriya – Shoto found that he couldn't make himself forget the look of cold avarice in Endeavor's eyes as he'd spoken about the path he wanted to force Shoto down. Or really, _anyone_ who'd ended up having the misfortune to inherit the "perfect" combination of Quirks that he'd been so damned proud of. Shoto could still remember hearing Endeavor's arguments with Touya, back before his eldest brother had left the Todoroki family with only the promise that he'd make enough money to free the rest of them from Endeavor as soon as he could.

Of course, the last time he'd spoken to Touya, the both of them agreed that they would focus on helping Mother, first.

Making his way into the ring, Shoto narrowed his eyes as he heard Present Mic announcing his presence for the match he was set to have against Sero. Already coldly furious from having Endeavor speak to him as though he was nothing more than a tool for _that man _to fulfill his ambitions, Shoto found himself growing all the more furious when Present Mic announced him as _that man's_ son. Narrowing his eyes as Sero shot a pair of streams of tape at him, Shoto glared down at the ground as he felt himself being dragged across it.

"Apologies," he muttered, turning to look at Sero as the boy stared fiercely back at him.

_~MHA~_

When Sero-san's half of the ring exploded with a sudden _wall_ of ice, Izuku found himself almost involuntarily glancing up at the jagged spires at the top, before turning his attention back to Todoroki-san. Looking down at the slump of his classmate's shoulders, as he thawed Sero-san free of the ice-prison he'd created, Izuku bit his lip. Pulling out his phone to text Dad, knowing that while his father might or might not have thought to use his Telescopic Vision Quirk to see what was going on with Todoroki-san he would still want to get Izuku's own take on everything that was happening, Izuku heard the sound of a new text on his phone:

**Dad For One:** It seems that Shoto-kun is experiencing a significant emotional upheaval.

**All For Son:** Yeah; I wonder what happened to set him off like that.

**Jake:** Yeah, he really did seem like he was doing at least a _bit_ better when we were all having lunch together.

**All For Son:** I'll try to talk to him when I see him again.

**Dad For One: **Speaking before the match you're set to have with him would be best, Izuku.

**All For Son:** Yeah, I know that, Dad. Thanks, though.

**Jake:** Good luck, Izu.

**All For Son:** Thanks. :)

Looking back over the conversation that he'd had with his family, Izuku found himself wondering again just where Bambaa-chan had gotten the name she used when all of them would text each other. The first time he'd asked her about it, she'd purred loudly, and the amusement carried by her Mental Voice Quirk had suggested that she was sharing some kind of private joke when she'd said that "Jake" was at least shorter than "Zunar J-5\9 Doric 4-7". He still didn't quite know what Bambaa-chan had been talking about when she'd said that, but under the circumstances it wasn't something he could think too much about.

_~MHA~_

Dodging out of the way as best as he could manage as his opponent slammed feet-first into the ground, Neito ground his teeth again. Here, again, was one of the many reasons he hated fighting alone: here he was, back to being Basically Quirkless Monoma. It was what everyone at his old school – before he and Izuku, the perfect partner that Neito hadn't ever really expected to find, had met that first fateful day at U.A. – had called him, and as the student from 1-A with the Tail Quirk bounded over to smack him in the face, Neito found himself determinedly cursing whatever sadistic bastard had thought up the idea of solo battles in the first place.

Them and whoever had made up U.A.'s standard entrance exam, _they'd_ probably had some kind of Quirk that was just _perfect_ for combat; selfish bastards, all of them.

Deciding to spare himself at least _some_ of the humiliation of losing to the guy who was inevitably going to end up throwing him out of the ring otherwise, Neito couldn't quite manage to stop himself from stalking as he made his way over to the edge of the ring the both of them were standing in. The sound of the crowds _cheering_ as he stepped over the edge and made his way down the first set of stairs brought a snarl that Neito only _barely_ managed to twist into a smile as he stomped down the steps to the arena floor. More than anything, he just wanted to get back to where Izuku was sitting.

Visiting with his perfect partner _had_ always seemed to make him feel at least that much better.

_~MHA~_

_/Geez, when did she turn into Billy Mays?/_

Turning as Bombalurina-chan purred in clear amusement, as the four of them continued watching the one-to-one matches that constituted the last round of U.A.'s Sports Festival competition, Hisashi chuckled softly as he rubbed between her feline ears.

"Billy Mays?" he asked, feeling both amused for the fact that his daughter had recovered enough of herself that she could find some amusement in all the happenings around her, but also curious about just who it was that she seemed to be speaking about.

_/Yeah,/_ Bombalurina-chan said, purring more loudly. _/He's really funny, Papa; I'll send you some videos of his. He worked in advertising, though, and considering what Mei-chan was doing…/_

Bombalurina-chan trailed off as he continued to rub her ears, settling into his side and purring. More than a few times, since he'd first brought Bombalurina Elliot into his home and offered her a place in it, Hisashi had found himself reflecting with amusement that having her in his home was truly the best of both worlds when it came down to either having a daughter or having a cat. Still, he'd sometimes tease her with the prospect of "adopting" a little sister for her from the pet shop.

Bombalurina-chan's dry, deadpan sarcasm in response never failed to amuse.

_~MHA~_

When Monoma had thrown himself down in a free seat next to him, the sight of the sharp-edged grin on his face let Izuku know that he wasn't taking his loss to Ojiro-san remotely well.

"Neito-kun," he said, as Monoma reached out for his right arm. "What are you doing?"

"Your Dad gave you Air Cannon awhile ago, right?" Monoma demanded, as Izuku turned to glance back at the sound of footsteps making their way over to where he was seated.

"Hey," Ojiro-san called gently, and Izuku found himself wincing as Monoma's grip tightened almost painfully around his wrist. "Monoma-san, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Monoma demanded, sharp-edged smile back on his face as he turned to face Ojiro-san.

Turning his attention firmly forward, having the distinct feeling that the conversation between Ojiro-san and Monoma wasn't meant for him to hear. It didn't seem like _that_ much of a concern, since Ojiro-san had decided to talk about whatever it was in the stands instead of finding a secluded place to speak to Monoma, but he still thought it would be kind of rude to eavesdrop like that. Looking down into the ring, Izuku found that the battle between Kirishima-san and Tetsutestsu-san had devolved into the kind of slugging match that he'd subconsciously been expecting.

Really, the both of them _did_ seem to be too straightforward to go in for anything else.

"Neito-kun- ow!" he exclaimed, as he felt Monoma's fingers digging into the flesh of the inside of his upper-arm.

"Arrogant bastard, treating me like I'm some kind of damned _charity _case," Monoma snarled, sharp-edged smile looking even sharper even as he seemed to force himself to loosen his grip, turning to Izuku as his smile softened, looking more than a little worn around the edges. "You really _should_ have been in 1-B with the rest of us. You don't fit in with the rest of those bastards at _all_."

Not knowing quite how he could explain to Monoma that no one in 1-A actually _fit_ the preconceptions that Monoma had somehow formed of them, Izuku turned his attention back to the ring. It looked like Ashido-san and Honenuki-san were going up against each other next.

"Well, at least _someone_ from 1-B is going to make it to the next round," Monoma said, sounding at least _slightly_ more pleased than he'd heard from his overbearing friend since the start of this stage of the Sports Festival.

Sure enough, given Honenuki-san's ability to soften the ground, Ashido-san didn't have any real chance to use her Acid Quirk to do any damage before she had been sunk halfway into the formerly-solid cement of the ring and ended up immobilized. Monoma seemed at least a _bit_ more settled once Honenuki-san had defeated Ashido-san, but when Yaoyorozu-san and Tokoyami-san made their own way up into the ring, Monoma sat back down in his seat looking bored again.

Though really, Izuku supposed he shouldn't really be surprised, since Monoma wasn't fond of _anyone_ in class 1-A aside from him; Bambaa-chan didn't even count, since she was a part of class 1-C.

_~MHA~_

"Ah, it seems that there _is_ a limit to Momo-chan's Quirk," Hisashi said, looking down at the screen displaying the replay of the battle that had just occurred.

_/Yeah, it looks like she needs to think really hard when she wants to create something; that's not really something you can afford in combat,/_ Bombalurina-chan said.

Hisashi chuckled softly as he watched her long tail twitch; it was a clear sign of both her interest in the battles occurring below them, as well as the fact that she was pleased. It _was_ a rather amusing, the way her tail acted to communicate the expressions that were in effect completely hidden by her face. Really, such a thing was true of _anyone_ who had been born with such comprehensive Mutation Quirks.

Which was why a great many of them had given them over to him, back when Quirks had first emerged in the world. Truly, there were times when Hisashi found himself wondering if Bombalurina-chan would ever tire of the many accommodations she was forced to make with regard to her own Quirk, and ask him to take it from her as those he'd known in the past had done. Still, for the time being Bombalurina-chan seemed satisfied with using Mental Voice to make herself understood in place of the notebook he'd found her with on the night that he'd taken her into the Midoriya household and made her a part of their family.

The night the Rosaru Ward had perished in flames.

_/Well, _that_ was quick,/_ Bombalurina-chan said with an amused purr, bringing Hisashi's attention firmly back to the present from which it had clearly wandered.

"Oh?" he asked, turning his eyes to Bombalurina-chan, wondering just what it was that she'd been watching while he'd been musing on the circumstances that had first brought the pair of them together.

_/Well, Ibara's vine-hair managed to ground out Denki's electricity and she tossed him out of the ring, which _was_ pretty much what I expected to happen. I just didn't expect it to go quite so fast./_

"Probably wanted to avoid a drawn-out slugging match like with those two hard-headed scrubs," Tenko-chan said, glancing over at the pair of them.

_/Yeah, that's probably it,/_ Bombalurina-chan said, nodding as Hisashi stroked behind her right ear, allowing herself to relax into his hold once again.

"Yes, I suppose that _does_ make sense," he said, smiling softly as Bombalurina-chan leaned into his left side once more. "It seems Katsuki-kun is going to be next."

_~MHA~_

As he stepped into the ring, facing down the girl who seemed to be making such an impression on Izuku – or maybe it was just the nerd being his usual awkward self around people he didn't know, but it was more fun to tease the nerd as if he _was_ looking for a girlfriend – Katsuki grinned as he saw the look of resolve on her face. She was starting to remind him more than a little of the nerd, too.

"All right, Rocketeer, let's see how you do _without_ your jetpack," he said, grinning as Uraraka crossed the length of the ring and the pair of them faced off with each other for real.

Uraraka didn't seem to know quite what to say to that, but before he could offer to show her the movie that sis had found – it was a pretty cool one, even though it seemed to actually be older than Uncle Sashi, given that _everyone_ in it was Quirkless – Uraraka was running at him and he needed to focus on fighting if he was going to make any headway against her. Blowing her steadily backwards with his explosions, since all she seemed to be doing was running at him, Katsuki found himself wondering if she even had a plan.

Izuku, huge nerd that he was, would have had at least an _outline_ of what he'd planned to do when he went into battle – just an outline, though, since Uncle Sashi had knocked into _both_ their heads how things could go sideways when you were trying to fight someone – and since Uraraka had reminded him more than a little of the nerd, he'd kind of expected her to be doing the same kind of thing. Still, his own explosions were playing hell with his vision, so he couldn't really say that she wasn't doing _anything_ to fight against him.

He could just say that he didn't know what kind of plan she actually _had_.

For however long it took for him to drain off what seemed to be the last of her stamina, Katsuki couldn't stop himself from wondering just what in the hell she thought she was doing.

"Thank you, Bakugo-kun, for keeping your eyes focused on me. Release!"

_What in the hell?_ Looking up, Katsuki could barely hold back a laugh as what looked like a good portion of the _entire fucking ring_ started falling down on his head as Uraraka clasped her fingertips together. _Holy shit!_

Raising his right arm, careful to brace it as best as he could, Katsuki unleashed the largest blast he could withstand into the mass of falling debris. _Goddamn, that was a hell of a thing,_ he mused, gritting his teeth in a fierce grin as he blew all of them into gravel.

"All right, not bad for an opening move, Uraraka!" he called out, grinning all the wider. "Let's see if you can follow it up!"

Right when he was about to run out to the center of the ring, to confront Uraraka head-on and see what she could _really_ do, he saw her stumbling suddenly as she tried to take a step forward. Rushing forward, just as Striptease started heading into the ring to check up on what was going on, Katsuki pulled her up onto his back before she could fall unconscious to the ground. _Well, this seems familiar,_ he reflected, smirking softly as he thought back to when he and Izuku were little kids.

He'd done just this same kind of thing, back then, whenever the excitable little nerd would overuse the Quirks that Uncle Sashi gave him and end up making himself fall asleep.

"Make sure she gets to Recovery Girl," Striptease said, a sly smile on her face that Katsuki _just_ managed not to roll his eyes at. "You know, ladies _love_ chivalry," she said, and Katsuki could only hope that she'd at least turned off that damned mic of hers.

"Whatever, Striptease," he grumbled, swallowing a laugh as he hauled Uraraka down the stairs and out of the ring.

Behind him, he could hear a cheer going up.


	10. Finally, the championship

Meeting up with Kacchan just outside Recovery Girl's temporary office, Izuku found his oldest friend waiting outside, occasionally looking toward the door as if he wanted to go inside. Still, since he probably wanted to talk to Ochako, the both of them knew that Recovery Girl wouldn't be happy if they went inside to talk to Ochako when she was probably meant to be resting.

"Hey, nerd, were _you_ the one who thought up that plan for your girlfriend?" Kacchan asked, leering at him.

"No, Ochako figured that out on her own," he said, leveling a scathing glare on his oldest friend. "And she's not my girlfriend, Kacchan."

"So, she really _is_ that much like you," Kacchan said, the amusement on his face not having diminished a single bit. "Only a matter of time, nerd; she just_ might_ be your soul mate."

"Kacchan!"

Shoving his first friend as he made his way to the waiting room so he could get some alone time before the fight he was going to have with Todoroki-san, Izuku rolled his eyes, grumbling as he heard Kacchan's laughter coming from behind him.

_~MHA~_

_Well, that's _one_ nerd successfully teased, now let's see about the other one,_ Katsuki mused, turning his attention to the door that Uraraka was just starting to make her way out of. Sure, he might not have known her _nearly_ as well as he did Izuku, the both of them having basically grown up together, what with the way Auntie had already _been_ friends with the old battleaxe before the both of them had been born, but she really did remind him more than a little of his nerdy friend. Mostly with how damn _shy_ they both were around people they didn't know.

"Hey, Rocketeer," he called, as the both of them began making their way out of Recovery Granny's domain and back into U.A.'s sports arena proper. "Nice move, trying to drop the whole damn _ring_ on my head."

"It didn't work," Uraraka said, sounding more beaten-down than he'd been expecting when he'd come down to see her. "I didn't manage to _do_ anything."

"Hey, don't be so down on yourself," he said, punching her lightly in the left shoulder as the pair of them continued on their way through the halls of the arena. "I've just had more training than you."

"I guess," Uraraka said, and the way she had her head down reminded him more than a little of Izuku.

Really, _that_ many Quirks and the little nerd _still_ had confidence issues. Sure, Uncle Sashi had said that it was only a matter of Izuku growing into his own power over time, but Katsuki had to admit that he'd always had a hard time imagining _Uncle Sashi_ acting at all like his nerd of a son. Sure, Uncle Sashi _was_ just as nerdy about Quirks as Izuku was about Heroes _and_ Quirks, but in every other way Izuku was really a lot more like Auntie than Uncle Sashi.

They both even had the same hair and eye color.

_~MHA~_

As he'd been making his way down the corridor to the ring for his fight with Todoroki-san, Izuku had sensed the sudden change in air temperature and found himself drawn up short before he could walk right into the human monolith that was the Pro Hero Endeavor.

"Endeavor-san," he said, looking up at the towering Pro, clad in his fiery costume; sure, Dad was a bit taller, but that was hard to remember when the pair of them weren't standing next to each other.

"You're Councilman Midoriya's son, aren't you?" Endeavor asked, though it didn't sound like he was really asking a question so much as stating a fact that he'd learned.

"I am," he said, wondering what Endeavor was getting at.

"Your father told me about the secret your family had been keeping," Endeavor continued, folding his arms as he stared down at him.

"I guess that makes sense, you _are_ one of the Top Five Pros, after all," he said, knowing that Dad wouldn't have told anyone he didn't trust about All For One, its relation to One For All, and the history of both Quirks.

"You're going to be facing my Shoto in the next round, so show him what someone with _true_ power is capable of," Endeavor said, leaving Izuku wondering just what in the world he was talking about. "Make sure he _fully_ understands."

When Endeavor left him behind, striding down the hall and back to wherever it was that he'd been watching from, Izuku shook his head before he could wonder too much about just why Endeavor had said those kinds of things to him. It seemed that he was more interested in _his_ progress, instead of Todoroki-san's, which was more than a little strange considering that Todoroki-san was his son and Izuku wasn't. Still, if he let himself get all tangled up in his thoughts before he had to go out and _fight_ Todoroki-san, he wasn't going to do nearly as well as he could have otherwise.

Slapping himself on both cheeks as he continued on his way out of the hallway and up to the ring where he and Todoroki-san were going to be fighting, Izuku looked up to see Todoroki-san making his own way up into the ring, as well.

_~MHA~_

Finding himself staring down Midoriya across the ring where so many of their fellow schoolmates had fought, Shoto tried as hard as he could not to remember the kindness of all four members of the Midoriya family as he'd sat and ate with them. None of that would help him to defeat Midoriya now, and in fact it would make it all the more difficult to think of Midoriya – the kindest boy he'd met, outside of his family – as his opponent. Not even as an _enemy_, since no one like Midoriya could ever conceivably be an enemy of anyone but the worst sort of Villains, but just as his opponent in this last event of the Sports Festival.

When he made his first attack, using the Ice Quirk that was his last remnant of his mother – the last _real_ connection that the two of them shared, the _only_ one that Endeavor hadn't managed to take from him or poison somehow – he found that Midoriya was easily able to counter him with what seemed to be some kind of fire breath Quirk.

_It seems like we're opposites even in this, Midoriya,_ he mused, even as he sent another ice barrage at his classmate.

_~MHA~_

_What's going on with you, Todoroki-san?_ Izuku found himself wondering, as the stoic boy launched more and more ice at him. Coughing as the Dragon's Breath Quirk that he was using started to dry out his throat, Izuku broke off a nearby chunk of ice, chewing it up and swallowing the resulting and refreshingly cold slush. Leaping to the top of a nearby ice mountain, using the Quirk that Dad had brought him for his eighth birthday, Izuku called up a copy of the Telescopic Vision Quirk that Dad had given him, he focused on Todoroki-san.

His ice attacks were starting to come slower and slower, and as he looked closer at Todoroki-san, Izuku saw the ice beginning to form on the right side of his body, coating him in spreading patches from head to toe. Blasting another wave of ice with his Dragon's Breath Quirk, Izuku jumped down from the ice mountain he'd perched on in order to look down on Todoroki-san and see what was happening to him. Eating a bit more of Todoroki-san's ice to cool down his throat, Izuku hurried over to where Todoroki-san was standing.

_~MHA~_

Looking up as Midoriya came down to confront him, Shoto tried not to shudder as the cold from Mother's Ice Quirk stabbed through him.

"Todoroki-san, you're shaking," Midoriya said, an expression of worry overtaking his face; he seemed to be trying to stop himself from rushing right over to help.

He was so much like Mother; all of the Midoriya family seemed to be cast in the same mold, making it entirely too easy for Shoto to find himself _wanting_ to become a part of them. To take up the Quirk that Hisashi Midoriya had created. Still, if he was going to remain his own person, if he was _truly_ going to reject the path that Endeavor had laid out for him, he couldn't allow himself to take up One For All.

No matter _how_ kind every member of Midoriya's family had proven themselves to be.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he watched Shoto-kun and little Izuku fight, Hisashi called up his Telescopic Vision Quirk.

"Honey, what's happening? Is something wrong?" Inko asked, turning to him with a look of worry on her careworn, beautiful face.

"Shoto-kun doesn't seem to have improved," he said, focusing on the boy's face and watching as it contorted in what seemed to be a mix of fury, apprehension, and what even seemed to be some kind of distaste. "I suspect he _has_ been having trouble at home. It would certainly fit with what I've heard about Enji during my own work."

Returning his attention to the battle as a whole, Hisashi was hardly surprised to see his little Izuku had triumphed; using a blast of his own Air Cannon and what looked to be at least one enhancer-type Quirk to shatter the ice wall Shoto-kun had been attempting to shelter behind and literally _blow_ him out of the ring. _Perhaps it's time I looked into giving Izuku another support-type Quirk,_ Hisashi reflected. There were a couple of candidates that would be ideal for stacking with Air Cannon to offset the recoil that the Quirk would otherwise produce: Muscoskelular Coiling, and Springlike Limbs.

Perhaps he would even gift _both_ to Izuku, since it was always more advantageous to have backups than not; still, the consideration remained that little Izuku _was_ still growing into his own version of All For One, and while his son _did_ have a greater carrying-capacity than anyone who hadn't been bioengineered for such a thing, it was probably best not to push him this early in life.

_~MHA~_

Once he'd made it back to the stands, settling down and fetching the half-filled notebook that he'd been working on, Izuku found that he couldn't quite forget the look on Todoroki-san's face when he'd been flying out of the ring… He'd seemed so sad, but also resigned, and he hadn't used even a _spark_ from his left side. Izuku had been trying to talk to him about that, at least as much as he _could_ when the both of them were still in the middle of a fight.

Todoroki-san _had_ seemed to be listening to what he was saying, but only reluctantly and clearly only half.

Sighing as he turned his attention back to the ring where Iida-san and Ojiro-san were starting their own battle. Biting his lip as he watched Ojiro-san jumping around, Izuku blinked in surprise as he watched Iida-san suddenly rocket forward with the use of the engines on his calves. An engine-boosted kick to Ojiro-san's head, which Ojiro-san was only _just_ quick enough to block, launched Ojiro-san out of the ring.

Using his Telescopic Vision Quirk, Izuku saw Ojiro-san laughing in clear surprise as he landed firmly outside of the ring, upside-down in a handstand.

Sighing again as he settled back down, Izuku watched as Tokoyami-san and Honenuki-san made their own ways up into the ring. It _would_ be kind of interesting watching the both of them fight, since Honenuki-san's Quirk could affect the environment around him, and that kind of thing might have been one of the best matches that anyone with a single Quirk _could_ be against Tokoyami-san's long-range Dark Shadow Quirk. Calling up his Telescopic Vision Quirk again, Izuku watched as Honenuki-san ran his Quirk all through the middle of the ring.

Tokoyami-san called out his Dark Shadow just as soon as Midnight-sensei had called for the match to start, slamming the bird-headed creature into Honenuki-san's torso and _shoving_ him out of the ring.

_Well, _that_ match ended just like I thought it would, _he mused, turning his attention back to his notebook so that he could finish recording what he'd learned about the Quirks of both of his schoolmates.

When Kacchan and Kirishima-san made their own way up into the ring, Izuku stood up and waved to his old friend as he made his way up the opposite set of stairs; he could see the grin that Kacchan returned him through his Telescopic Vision.

Kacchan was as quick to go on the offensive as ever, and with the explosions that his Quirk generated he was able to slowly chip away at Kirishima-san's rocklike skin until his Quirk failed and Kacchan was able to knock him down; Kirishima-san fell to the ground and didn't rise again.

Knowing that he was going to be called on soon enough for his own fight with Iida-san, Izuku put away his latest notebook with some reluctance; he could almost _see_ Kacchan smirking at him, though his old friend hadn't quite made it back to the stands yet.

_~MHA~_

Looking over at Ingenium again, as the pair of them ran side-by-side down the road, Chiozome Akaguro found himself rather amused at how easily he'd allowed himself to be convinced by the earnest man's drive. Still, delivering food to a homeless shelter _was_ something that he himself would have done, in between his work as a reporter and the work that he did as the Pro Hero Stendhal. Ever since the night that Rosaru had been burned to the ground, scattering its people and costing more than a few of them their lives, he'd worked tirelessly as both Chiozome _and_ as Stendhal.

Chiozome Akaguro brought the hidden truth of matters to light, and Stendhal acted in the situations where Chiozome was unable to.

Once the pair of them had arrived at the Hosu Ward shelter, Chiozome turned his attention to the cart that he and Ingenium had been pushing. Just as they'd begun to unload it at the shelter, he and Ingenium found themselves called upon to help with the lunch rush; the both of them were quick to agree, of course, as _true_ heroes would.

_~MHA~_

As he made his way back down into the ring, for his own match with Iida-san, Izuku couldn't help but notice the unsettled look on Iida-san's face as his classmate made his own way up. He'd have to remember to ask Iida-san about it, once the pair of them were done with their fight. Iida-san tried to use the same move that he'd used on Ojiro-san, what looked like some kind of super-move and ended up being called Recipro Burst, Izuku leaped out of the way and returned fire with his Air Cannon.

He didn't have more than six shots, at most, before the arm he was using it in – his right, in this case – would start cramping up and he would need to switch to a different Quirk if he didn't want to risk hurting himself and earning a lecture from Dad about _not_ doing that kind of thing.

After _four_ shots from his Air Cannon, he managed to knock Iida-san out of the ring, and once he'd been declared the winner, Izuku quickly made his way back to the stands, since he could probably meet up with Iida-san in the halls while the both of them were on their way back. Once he _had_ managed to catch up with Iida-san, he waved to his classmate, calling out as he closed in.

"You were looking kind of worried while we were fighting, Iida-san, is something wrong?" he asked, falling into step beside Iida-san as the both of them made their way back to their places in the stands.

"I was trying to speak to my brother, but it seems that he's busy right now," Iida-san said, sounding a bit more settled than he had been while Izuku had been fighting him, but there was still something unsettled in his tone.

Izuku didn't think Iida-san was really as okay with everything as he was trying to seem.

_~MHA~_

Having left Ingenium – or Tensei Iida, as the man had introduced himself to Chiozome when the pair of them had been given the chance to rest for a moment; the man with sixty-five Sidekicks to his name, and an altruistic reason for bringing in each and every one of them – to speak with his younger brother, Chiozome made his way into the room where all of the people who stayed in the Hosu shelter were housed during the night. The child that he'd seen had been too young to have lived through the destruction of the Rosaru Ward, and the fact that he hadn't seen anyone who looked like the boy had brought up a distinctly uncomfortable suspicion within Chiozome.

He held to the hope that he would be wrong, but the sound of a child's soft, hitching breaths made such hopes increasingly fragile with each one that he heard.

Making his way into the room where all of the people staying in this shelter slept, with its row upon row of folding beds, Chiozome quickly located the child that he'd been following. The little boy was curled up on the bed he presumably slept in, messy brown hair shaking as he held the stuffed toy – the long, white flap of fabric on the back seemed to suggest that it was one of the Underground Hero by the name of Sensei – that seemed to be his his only source of comfort. Making his way over to the bed where the boy was huddled, Chiozome reached out to gently touch the child's left shoulder.

"Hey," he called softly, looking down into the boy's pale, silver eyes as he turned to look up. "Your favorite Hero is Sensei?"

"Yeah," the child said, sitting up slightly and revealing that he had indeed been made in the image of the Underground Hero in question. "See, I'm Quirkless, so I was wondering if he could fix me."

"You're Quirkless?" he asked, settling down on the bed as the boy he was speaking to moved back to make room for him.

"That's why my parents left me here," the silver-eyed boy said, shrugging; the numbness in his tone, as though the pain of being thrown out by those who _should_ have loved and protected him had been with him so long that he'd actually become _used _to it… "They took me to Hosu as soon as they found out."

Clenching his jaw as tightly as he could, not wanting to startle the boy he was speaking by hissing through his teeth, Chiozome forced his attention back to the conversation that they were having. "What's your name?"

"My name is Niseko Sezu, what's yours?" Niseko asked, holding the stuffed effigy of Sensei closer.

"My name is Chiozome Akaguro; it's good to meet you, Niseko-chan," he said, gathering himself as he faced Niseko's sad, silver eyes. "And I know that Sensei wouldn't try to fix you, _because there isn't anything wrong with you._"

_~MHA~_

Looking up as he heard the heavy steps of Chiozome Akaguro making their way back into the waiting room where he'd been sitting, Tensei was just about to call out to him, when he saw the furious look on his fellow Pro's face.

"Hold on for a minute, Tenya," he said, covering the receiver on his phone as Chiozome came to sit down on the bench next to him. "What's wrong?"

"I met a young boy; Niseko Sezu," Chiozome all but _snarled_. "His parents _left_ him here, as soon as they found out he was Quirkless."

_Wait, the medical examinations that determine if someone has a Quirk or not take place-_ "What kind of people would leave a _four year old_ at a homeless shelter?" he found himself demanding.

"That, Tensei, is _precisely_ what I mean to find out."

_~MHA~_

When he'd managed to put Bird Brain on the ground, Katsuki had known even then that his upcoming fight against Izuku was going to be the one that he _really_ had to worry about. Blasting the concrete floor underneath him, Katsuki lifted up another wall for himself to shelter behind; there was only _one_ way that he would be able to knock Izuku out of the fight, and that was to keep his nerdy friend switching Quirks until the process of _doing_ that kind of thing wore him out and he fell asleep. It was the same thing that'd happened back when they were kids and Izuku would show off the Quirks that Uncle Sashi had been giving him even back then.

There were times that Katsuki had found himself wondering if Uncle Sashi still had those kinds of limits, himself.

Blasting up more of the ring, trying to shield himself from Izuku's Air Cannon for as long as it would take for the nerd to wear out the arm he was using the Quirk on, Katsuki winced as he suddenly found himself _and_ the debris from the ring starting to float. Looking down at the determined expression on Izuku's face, Katsuki smirked in response. Launching himself forward with the aid of his explosions, blasting aside the chunks of concrete that _he'd_ been the one to break free in the first place, Katsuki laughed as he dodged through the maze that the Quirk that seemed to be one of Izuku's favorites had created for him.

Blasting his way through the debris, Katsuki yelled in surprise as the nerd sent a _colossal _blast from his Air Cannon _right the fuck at him_!

_~MHA~_

The sound of Papa chuckling made Bombalurina kind of wish that she could have smiled back in return, even though she _was_ purring.

"Well, _that_ ended just as I expected it to," Papa said, rising from his seat as the TV began broadcasting the award ceremony.

Once Papa had gathered them all together, he, Mama, Tenko, and Bombalurina herself all made their way down through the halls and back out to the arena where Izu, Katsuki, and their classmates were about to receive their medals. Wishing for a moment that she'd thought to bring her glasses – Papa _had _said he was looking for a Quirk that would improve her eyesight, as well as a way to give it to her that wouldn't hurt her somehow or other, but she hadn't heard anything more than that so far – Bombalurina shaded her eyes as she looked out over the expanse of the arena.

Even _with_ the slight and not-so-slight blurring at the edges of everything she was trying to look at, which only got worse the farther she was trying to look, Bombalurina was able to spot the three podiums as they rose to their respective heights.

She also managed to catch Katsuki's good natured grumble of: "screw you _and_ your million Quirks", which had obviously been aimed at Izu if her brother's immediate denial that he had a _million_ Quirks was anything to go by. Izu was as quick to meet up with them as he'd ever been, and somehow Papa managed to carry them _both_ out of the arena on his back. It was kind of strange, but also kind of nice, at the same time.

Really, it reminded her a lot of what Dad had done, back when she was little.


	11. Those left behind

Having received word that his special order had finally been delivered, Hisashi was quick to suggest a trip to the Kiyashi Ward mall to his dear family. Amusingly enough, _Tenko_ was the one who proved the most reluctant to come along. Still, considering his past and current fame as a Pro Hero, as well as the young Shimura's general disinterest in social matters, Hisashi _could_ rather understand his feelings on the matter. Of course, considering how _excited_ his little Izuku had proven to be at the prospect, Tenko had still ended up agreeing eventually.

And so, the four of them made their way into the mall, Hisashi took the chance to inform his little Bombalurina that he had something for her.

_~MHA~_

After Dad and Bambaa-chan had left to pick up whatever it was that Dad had gotten for her, Izuku found himself alone with Tenko-nii. Tenko-nii, who'd wrapped himself in a slightly oversized black hoodie in an obvious effort to keep any of his fans from finding out where he was. Izuku found it kind of funny, but he also found himself wondering if this kind of thing would start happening to _him_, once he'd started becoming famous as a Pro Hero. Under whatever kind of name he ended up choosing…

"Zu-_chan_, I thought you said you were going to keep those fangirls off my back," Tenko-nii chided him, smacking him lightly on the head with the manga he'd been reading.

"Right, Tenko-nii," he said, chuckling softly as Tenko-nii adjusted his position in front of the shelf where he was browsing. "I will."

"I'll hold you to that, Zu-chan," Tenko-nii playfully grumbled. "I swear I can hear them squeeing from all the way over here."

"Don't worry, Tenko-nii," he said, voice wobbling with suppressed laughter that he was sure that Tenko-nii could hear perfectly well. "I'll protect you."

"I'll hold you to _that_ too, _Zu-chan_," Tenko-nii responded, swatting him lightly upside the head with what felt like the same manga he'd been using before.

_~MHA~_

Once the both of them had finished looking at books, though he'd kind of expected Izuku to want to stay longer considering how thoroughly obsessed he was with all things related to Heroes, Quirks, and everything, he and Izuku made their way out to the food court. Following the scent of cinnamon buns, Tenko chuckled as he saw the crowds already gathered around the shop. Turning to look over at Izuku, he found his little brother grinning back at him.

"Looks like you're stuck here, Tenko-nii," his little brother said, grinning down at him as he stood up. "Don't worry, I won't lead them back to you."

"I'm _definitely_ going to hold you to _that_, Zu-chan," he said, grinning as he pulled up his hood, making sure that no one would be able to spot him where he was sitting.

Izuku laughed, waving back to him as he made his way into the shop, Tenko settling back on the bench as he watched Izuku make his way through the crowds of people. Sure, his little brother _was_ semi-famous, considering Uncle Sashi's governmental position, but as a Pro Hero _he_ was basically walking fangirl bait. It _was_ more than a little annoying, but as long as he kept his hood up and stayed out of sight, he'd probably be all right.

As long as no one else did something stupid, at least.

_~MHA~_

Watching Papa as he made his way to the large bookstore that Bombalurina had found herself more than a little tempted to spend a handful of hours – at the very least – browsing the various shelves, she forced herself to keep up with Papa's long-legged stride.

"I suppose this answers the question of if you'd like me to bring you back here or not," Papa said, chuckling softly as he brought her in for a quick, gentle hug. "At the moment, however, there's still the matter of your gift to sort out, my dear."

Purring softly, Bombalurina hugged Papa back. _/Ah, right; the mysterious, belated birthday present. You know, if I actually knew what it _was_, I'd probably be more excited./_

"My dear, that would be _entirely_ beside the point," Papa said, and the pair of them shared a laugh; or as close as she could _get_ to a laugh, anyway.

Watching as one of the workers handed Papa a large, rectangular package – one that seemed more than a little familiar to her, from back before the Fire; thoughts that would have been a lot happier if she could somehow avoid remembering where they all ultimately _led_ – Bombalurina saw Papa's wide smile as he turned to look back at her, and found herself wishing all over again that she could have smiled back.

But her face didn't work like that, so she purred.

"Now, do you think you can wait until we get home to open your gift, or would you prefer to open it in the car?" Papa asked, and Bombalurina had the feeling that _he_ was the one who was actually the most eager to watch her open it.

Pretty fitting, really, since he was the one who actually knew what it even _was_.

_~MHA~_

When he and Izuku had found a nice, secluded table to eat their cinnamon buns, Tenko turned to his little brother as he sat down in the chair next to him, smiling slightly.

"You remembered the two frostings, right Zu-chan?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"_Yes_, Tenko-nii, I remembered your two frosting cups," his little brother said, grinning in a slightly amused, slightly chiding fashion.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," he said, reaching out to ruffle his little brother's hair.

Once he'd scooped out the two frosting containers onto the top of his cinnamon bun, Tenko waited for Izuku to use his fire breathing Quirk to melt the frosting so that it dripped down the sides of his bun, then once Izuku had finished melting his own single container of extra frosting, the pair of them started eating. As he savored the slightly spicy sweetness filling his mouth, Tenko continued people-watching; while he _did_ enjoy spending time with his family, and there were times when he _could_ enjoy spending time outside the walls of Sensei's estate, one thing he absolutely _hated_ was being mobbed.

And, as a Pro Hero, that was always something he had to keep an eye out for.

_~MHA~_

As he and Bombalurina made their way back to the parking lot, Hisashi found that he was far from the _only_ one who suspected that there was something untoward going on. Closing ranks with his sweet daughter, even as he activated his Panoception Quirk and _she_ began determinedly searching for… whatever it was that seemed to be coming with those fantastically flexible ears of hers, Hisashi guided the pair of them to walk faster. For a moment, even as he immersed himself in the nigh-overwhelming rush of perceptual data that Panoception granted him, Hisashi had a brief thought to ask Izuku if he could make a copy of Bombalurina's Quirk for his own use.

Before he could consider _that_ rather interesting idea for anything more than a handful of seconds, Hisashi found himself forced away from Bombalurina by what felt like someone who possessed some kind of full-body enhancement Quirk. Narrowing his eyes as he heard his sweet daughter's scream – a terrible, pained sound, combining a cat's yowl and the shriek of the young girl Bombalurina truly _was_ – Hisashi focused on his daughter as she crouched on the ground. The sight of blood, welling up from four, large slashes that had been carved into her back, prompted Hisashi to yank her sharply away from the man – it _looked_ male, but the distended, hypertrophied musculature and the blank, rolling eyes suggested it was something other than human, at this point in time – attacking her.

Holding Telekinesis and an enhancement Quirk together allowed him to deflect the next charge, and while he was leaping out of the way with the aid of a subtle speed Quirk, Hisashi reached telekinetically for his phone so that he could call for aid; after all, Councilman Midoriya was only known to have a powerful telekinesis Quirk to the public at large.

_~MHA~_

He and Tenko-nii had settled down together on a planter to people-watch, though that kind of thing was really more something _he_ was interested in; Tenko-nii was always more interested in _avoiding_ people whenever he could, so Izuku was always thankful when Tenko-nii would come out somewhere public with him.

"Oh, Deku, hi!"

"Ochako-san!" he exclaimed, suddenly aware of the nice girl standing in front of him, and the way Tenko-nii was looking at him from under the hood he was wearing; his big brother was smirking at him, Izuku just knew it. "What are _you_ doing all the way out here?"

"Well, sometimes I like to go window-shopping," Ochako-san said, a shy look on her face as the pair of them continued taking; well, it was there for a few moments, before turning into an expression of surprise. "Oh, wow!"

The sight of Tenko-nii pulling his hood off made it plain why she was looking like _that_, of course.

"Hey," Tenko-nii said, leaning back on the planter they were sitting on, and when Izuku looked over he could see the self-amused smile spreading across his older brother's face. "Nice to meet you, Ochako-_chan_," Tenko-nii continued, and Izuku narrowed his eyes as he heard the way his older brother leaned into the honorific. "Now, about your relationship with my little brother-"

Cutting Tenko-nii off by picking his older brother up and throwing him over his left shoulder, Izuku apologized to Ochako-san and used his Blink Quirk to get far enough out of the area that she couldn't hear Tenko-nii starting to laugh.

"Well, so much for not having anything to hide, Zu-chan," Tenko-nii said, grinning as he slithered down from Izuku's back, landing neatly on his feet.

Before either of them could say one more word, or even do anything else, the sound of an alert coming through on _both_ their phones pulled Izuku up short. Looking at the text that he'd been sent, Izuku stiffened in surprise.

"We've been cleared for provisional Quirk use," he muttered, feeling himself tensing involuntarily as he realized what that _meant_.

Ever since the Rosaru Massacre, Dad's reforms to Quirk-restrictions had become a bit more palatable to the public in general; not all of them, since there were still more than a few people who didn't see the benefit of people being able to use their Quirks outside of the Pro Hero system even when an emergency _did_ come up, but enough that Dad had been able to reform the laws enough to allow for emergency Quirk use. Strictly under extraordinary circumstances, of course, which was all the _more_ reason to worry that such an alert had come up _now_.

_~MHA~_

The sight of Toshinori, leaping down from the roof of a nearby shop to bury Bombalurina's attacker – a man who looked to have a rather odd combination of feline traits and hypertrophied muscles – in the concrete of the courtyard beneath them brought at least _some_ peace to Hisashi's mind. Very little, considering the way that Bombalurina's temperature was climbing, and the fact that his Analysis Quirk was informing him of just how dangerously close to a fever she was coming.

Only just keeping himself from _stalking_ through the crowds that were beginning to gather in the wake of Toshinori's battle with the creature attacking them, Hisashi searched the thronging crowds for someone who would actually be of some use to him. He knew that the alerts would have gone out just as soon as one of the mall security officers had called in about the battle, and so anyone with a useful Quirk would be able to assist him without running into the kind of patently idiotic restrictions that Quirks had been placed under in Japan.

At least, in those areas where the presence where the Meta Liberation Front did _not_ hold an acknowledged majority; though they, naturally, had their own biases and blind-spots.

Holding his unconscious daughter's wound closed and keeping pressure on it with his telekinesis, Hisashi found his gaze almost naturally drawn to a woman with bright, almost _acid_ green hair, even before she began pressing her way through the crowd in his direction.

"Councilman Midoriya," the woman said, as the pair of them made their way through the last of the crowds – Hisashi was tempted to blast more than a few of them aside, not only for the way they kept crowding him, but for the way they were inadvertently keeping him from getting his daughter the aid she so clearly needed – but he held himself back, for the sake of his family and their peaceful lives, if nothing else.

"You received the alert, I take it," he said.

"Yes," she said, nodding as she made her way over to him. "My name is Kagero Hakase."

"Ah, your Quirk is Anti-Venom," he said, recognizing the name from the National Quirk Registry that he had access to as a matter of course. "Good; I think my daughter was poisoned," he said, making himself sound uncertain, in spite of the fact that his Analysis Quirk had determined that such was indeed the case.

"Right," she said, nodding as he allowed Bombalurina's blood to flow once more.

Watching in mild interest as the woman's tongue elongated and reshaped itself into what seemed to be some kind of insectile proboscis, Hisashi pulled up a minor vision-enhancement Quirk so that he could more easily observe how the Quirk of the woman working to save his daughter actually _functioned_. It seemed that she needed to take a sample of whatever toxin she was attempting to cure, given the way he could see her using the proboscis that had once been her tongue to siphon up the blood welling up in the bottommost of the four deep, oozing wounds on Bombalurina's back.

Wrapping his telekinesis around his daughter's back once Hakase-san had finished her work there, holding her wounds closed in lieu of using the healing abilities that he couldn't display publicly at this point, he allowed Hakase-san to take Bombalurina's face in her hands, watching as Hakase-san opened Bombalurina's mouth, and then her own mouth, and then Hakase-san secreted some kind of milky fluid into his daughter's mouth. He'd been wondering, ever since he'd discovered the way the public in general reacted to Hakase-san and her Quirk, why she'd been unable to gain meaningful employment.

The many and varied advantages of such a Quirk aside, the _method_ of its use would inevitably put more than a few people off, naturally.

Once Hakase-san had assured him that the last of the toxin had been eliminated from Bombalurina's body, Hisashi called up his Analysis Quirk once more. Narrowing his eyes as he assessed the damage that had already been done, he found that his daughter's fever was _still_ climbing. Grinding his teeth, even as he quickly sent off a text to Daruma Ujiko with the information that he'd gathered, and a request to be picked up as soon as possible, Hisashi hissed out a long, furious breath.

The familiar, unpleasant sensation of warping fluid expanding in his mouth and throat prompted Hisashi to hold tighter to Bombalurina, allowing the feel of her body resting in his arms to calm him down.

"Sir, I received your message," Ujiko said, making his way over to the row of tanks that were meant to be used for the long-term treatment of patients in just the kind of precarious conditions that Bombalurina had found herself in.

"I'm glad to hear it, Ujiko," he muttered, carrying his daughter over to one of the tanks that Ujiko was preparing for their use, greeting the doctor's grandson in passing as he cradled Bombalurina's struggling, sickened form in his arms.

Holding his daughter as Ujiko worked a feeding tube into her throat and snapped the attached breathing mask over her face, he removed the last of her clothes as Ujiko affixed the last of the medical monitors. Laying her down on the bottom of the tank, he stepped back as Ujiko snapped it shut and began to fill it with the fluid that would be needed to stabilize her temperature so that she would be able to recover from the fever that had somehow been caused when that creature had attacked her.

"It seems that creature you described to be was equipped with not only some kind of toxin, but also a metabolic destabilizer of some sort," Ujiko reported, eyes narrowing behind the tinted lenses of his goggle-like glasses. "There's too little of the toxin left for me to determine what _it_ was meant to do, but if you hadn't been so quick to call, your kitten would have suffered severe brain-damage."

"Given how her fever was spiking, I'm hardly surprised," he said, narrowing his eyes as the seething, helpless fury of seeing one of the few people he cared about in this world in such a vulnerable position burned slowly through him.

He'd need to find out _everything_ about that creature, up to and including just where it had come from, before he could begin making _proper_ plans to deal with the faction that had created it; he might have been willing to tolerate a bit of latitude from those he cared about, but this was still _his_ world. _He_ was the shepherd that had guided superhuman society into its present form, and he wasn't about to allow anyone else to disrupt the comfortable lives he'd built for his loved ones.

No matter _who_ they happened to be.


	12. Shadows of Rosaru

After he'd knocked out that strange, almost _rabid_-seeming Villain that had been attacking the Kiyashi Ward mall while Hisashi and his family – not to mention all of the _other_ innocent people who had ended up being caught up in the attack that had hospitalized Midoriya-chan – had been shopping, Toshinori had allowed himself to relax once Tsukauchi had taken charge of the Villain. He'd taken up position in the station's waiting room, a place that'd become almost uncomfortably familiar to him during the course of his work as a Pro Hero, waiting for Tsukauchi to let him know what was going on with that Villain he'd brought in.

More than the lack of any kind of threats, demands, or coherent speech in general, something had just seemed to be _off_ with that guy.

The sudden sound of rushing feet, what seemed to be a lot of them if the sounds he was hearing were right, drew Toshinori's attention. Standing up, wondering if he was going to find himself called upon for something more than what he'd just done, Toshinori quickly found himself facing Tsukauchi once more.

"Tsukauchi, what's going on?" he asked, as soon as he caught sight of the detective he'd worked alongside for such a long time during his Pro Hero career that he'd long since stopped worrying about revealing his identity.

"That Villain you brought in is in a bad way, All Might," Tsukauchi said, as Toshinori fell into step with the man on their way to the infirmary.

He'd spent more than his fair share of time there, on one particularly memorable occasion even being chewed out by Hisashi – in his guise as the Underground Hero, Sensei – while he'd been working as a Pro Hero.

"What do you mean?" he asked, suspecting from Tsukauchi's tone that there was a lot more to the situation than he'd first been set to expect.

"That man… his symptoms are an exact match for the ones we saw in the wake of the Rosaru Massacre," Tsukauchi said, a worried expression spreading across his face as the pair of them hurried toward the infirmary.

The thought of someone _else_ with what'd come to be called Rosaru Fever… Toshinori shuddered, even as he and Tsukauchi hurried to the infirmary. The sight of the Villain- the _man_ that he'd brought in just that afternoon, thrashing and convulsing in the bed he'd been strapped down to, made Toshinori feel like his heart was slowly being crushed. The same despair he'd felt, standing over the beds of those few that had been recovered from the center of the Rosaru Ward – or near enough that it hadn't seemed to matter – as their bodies slowly burned out from the fever; those few that had survived now numbered among those who'd come to be called the Lost.

Still, back then healing Quirks hadn't been so prevalent; back then, Hisashi hadn't yet taken a direct hand…

_~MHA~_

Staring into the tank that housed his dear daughter – one tank in the row of tanks that had been designed and created in the wake of the Rosaru Massacre, those that had been engineered to treat those who had been suffering from the symptoms of what had come to be called Rosaru Fever – Hisashi narrowed his eyes, considering how it was that he would be able to find out where that creature that had attacked his dear daughter had come from. Before he could begin thinking too deeply on the matter, Hisashi heard a deep, sharp, resonating tone in the earpiece he habitually wore when he was working outside of his home.

Narrowing his eyes, knowing the true meaning of this particular sound, Hisashi made his way over to where Ujiko was monitoring Bombalurina as he worked to stabilize her condition.

"Take care of her for me, doctor," he said, making his way past Ujiko, even as he called upon Warp Gate from within the greater whole of All For One, wrapping it around himself as he departed for the room where he'd stored the costume he used while operating as Sensei.

Checking the coordinates once he was in possession of the integrated heads-up display within his helmet, Hisashi opened a Warp Gate into the room that he had been called to; the room where his next patient was currently waiting.

_~MHA~_

Looking over as a familiar Warp Gate opened in the room where Tsukauchi and the paramedics were trying to stabilize the man he'd brought in, after the brief rampage at the mall that had hospitalized Midoriya-chan and brought this man to his attention in the first place, Toshinori found his habitual smile widening in relief as he watched Hisashi himself making his way through the Warp Gate and into the room.

"Rosaru Fever; I thought we'd seen the last of this," Hisashi muttered, sweeping into the room with his long, white coat and the tall, white staff that served as not only a communication device, but also gave the impression that Panacea – whatever combination of Quirks Hisashi actually used, to make his incredible healing possible – was the only Quirk that Sensei possessed whenever he was called into dangerous or unstable terrain.

"I thought so, too," Tsukauchi said, turning from the man strapped to the bed to where Hisashi was standing. "No one else has the kind of power we've seen you demonstrate, Sensei, and that seems to be what we need."

"I suspected as much," Hisashi said, seeming like he was about to lean his staff against the wall, before Tamakawa came and took it from him.

All might caught a muttered expression of gratitude from Hisashi, before the man moved to stand over the supine form of the man strapped to the bed; the man who'd attacked him, and if the report he'd gotten from Dr. Ujiko was right this was also the man who'd severely injured Bombalurina, but here he was to heal that same man. For all that his sarcasm and good-natured mockery of the world and almost everyone outside of their family, Hisashi was a genuinely kind person.

Watching Hisashi as he pressed green-glowing hands to the man's forehead and chest, Toshinori sighed softly as he watched as the man's struggling slowly calmed down.

"Sensei, is something wrong?" Tsukauchi asked, making his way over to where Hisashi was standing, tension slowly bleeding into his stance.

"This man's body… It's devouring itself," Hisashi said; Toshinori felt _himself_ tensing, as he looked back down at the man laid down on the medical bed.

There was bloody foam, just beginning to gather at the edges of his mouth, as the man on the bed began to convulse even under _Hisashi's_ firm hands.

"Isn't there _anything_ you can do, Sensei?" he asked, making his way over to Hisashi's side, looking down at the man his old friend was attempting to heal. "I mean, you've handled cases like this before, haven't you?"

"The damage is progressive, _and_ it's accelerating," Hisashi said, the tone of his voice plainly showing how deeply he was immersing himself in the workings of the man's body with the aid of the collection of Quirks he worked with to heal the way he did.

"What does that mean for your efforts here, Sensei?" Tsukauchi asked, making his own way over to where the pair of them were standing.

"His organs are all failing simultaneously," Hisashi said, glowing hands still pressed against the man's chest and forehead. "If I remove my attention from one of them in order to focus on the others, the damage _there_ only grows worse," he barked a humorless laugh. "Even if I _did_ have someone with access to a biological-stasis Quirk, that would only serve to buy time," Toshinori could almost _see_ Hisashi frowning under the helmet that concealed his features. "It's as though someone weaponized the Ebola virus, and used it to infect this man."

"Weaponized _Ebola_?" Toshinori couldn't quite keep the outburst to himself, but he didn't think anyone in the room actually blamed him.

"Yes; that _is_ what the symptoms most resemble, if in an accelerated form," Hisashi said, head tilted slightly, and Toshinori found his fists clenching almost involuntarily. "Considering his current state, and how fast his symptoms are progressing, this man's body will be a liquid before the end of the day."

Shuddering as he looked back down at the man, who'd started to bleed from the outside corners of his eyes, his large, catlike ears, as well as his nose, Toshinori felt almost as though someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. Shuddering, knowing that Hisashi's analysis Quirks were too refined by all the years, decades, and centuries he'd spent using them for his prognosis to be mistaken, Toshinori reached down to gently wrap his large, powerful hands around the man's neck.

"I'm sorry," he said, snapping it as quickly as he could, before the man could suffer any more than he already had.

Feeling Hisashi's hand resting lightly on his back, Toshinori allowed himself to relax for a few seconds, before pulling himself back upright as Tsukauchi and his fellow officers turned to look his way. There was still a lot of things they were going to need to do, to find out who this man had been, and what had happened to him. Rosaru Fever was bad enough, but _this_…

_~MHA~_

Finding out what'd happened to sis had been bad enough, but when they'd actually been able to go _visit_ her… Katsuki growled, reaching out to touch the tall, clear glass – or whatever – that protected sis and kept her safe while she was recovering from whatever that bastard had done to her.

"Dad says that she's going to be all right," Izuku said, hands jammed in his pockets as he stared up at sis as her body struggled to recover from the fever. "But…"

"Yeah," he said, trying as best as he could not to snap.

Both of them knew that they were going to have to go back to school tomorrow; tomorrow, which was coming sooner than either of them wanted, and they were going to have to leave sis here with Dr. Weird so she could actually get _better_.

"Visiting hours are almost over, Kacchan."

"I never said _you_ could call me that, Hayato," he said, turning to look at another of his old friends – one he'd kind of slipped out of contact with, though considering that Hayato had decided to become a doctor and _he_ was going to be the greatest Pro Hero in the world it made sense – with a slight smirk.

"Not now, you two," Izuku said, turning to the both of them with a firmly unimpressed expression.

"Right, sorry Zuzu," he said, putting his left hand on Izuku's back.

They _were_ all here to support sis; he should really try to remember that better.

_~MHA~_

Once the both of them had returned to school, Izuku found himself thinking how perversely appropriate it was, the heavy rain that was falling all around him. It almost seemed like the world _itself_ was mourning what had happened to Bambaa-chan.

"Midoriya!"

"Oh, Iida-san," he said, turning to look at his friend as he came up the path to where he was standing. "Good morning!"

"I heard about what happened to your sister, but you shouldn't let it make you late for class!" Iida-san exclaimed, dashing past him, covered from head-to-toe in a hooded raincoat.

"You really went all-out on the rain gear, didn't you?" he asked, managing a small smile as he caught up with Iida as the pair of them made their way to the U.A. building.

"My brother told me about what happened in Kiyashi," Iida said, as the pair of them made their way inside the building to put up their rain gear. "I'm sorry," Iida-san said, reaching out to lay his right hand on Izuku's right shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, as they made their way to class.

The sight of Tenko-nii, dragging Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag into the classroom, brought a welcome feeling of normality back to the day.

"First off, it's not what you think it is," Tenko-nii said, just before he stepped behind Aizawa-sensei's desk to drop off the sleeping bag and allow Aizawa-sensei to climb out.

"We've got a big class today, on Hero Informatics," Aizawa-sensei said, once he'd stood up behind his desk. "And, like my assistant said, it isn't what you're probably thinking. You all need code names; time to pick your Hero names."

The response to that was about as enthusiastic as Aizawa-sensei had probably been expecting, but Izuku couldn't quite find it in himself to participate in that. He was still thinking about Bambaa-chan, staying with Dr. Ujiko, and struggling to recover from what seemed to be a reoccurrence of Rosaru Fever. When Kacchan handed him one of the small whiteboards that either Aizawa-sensei or Tenko-nii had passed out to the class as a whole, Izuku looked down at the whiteboard, and found that he couldn't quite stop himself from chuckling.

"Thanks, Kacchan," he muttered, looking down at the joke name that his old friend had written for him; he wasn't about to actually _use_ "Brainstorm: the Nerd Hero" as his name, but it was at least funny.

_~MHA~_

"You're sure I'm not going to be in the way?" little Niseko Sezu asked, holding his stuffed doll of Sensei all the closer.

"Of _course_ you won't. Come on," Tensei said, leaning down to look into the shy boy's silver eyes; seeing how beaten-down Niseko-chan was, even at seven years old…

It was the first time that Tensei had ever found himself actually _wanting_ to shout at a civilian; if he ever had the chance to meet Niseko-chan's parents, or any siblings the boy might have had, he was going to give them a piece of his mind. As he led Niseko-chan up into the third level, where the dorms for those Sidekicks he hired whose home situations were too unstable for them to stay where they originally lived – or else those who simply lived too far away to want to make the commute every day – had all been built, Tensei rested his left hand on Niseko-chan's right shoulder.

After he'd gotten Niseko-chan as well-settled as the little boy seemed to be able to settle down, considering everything he'd been through, Tensei made his way back down to the ground floor. The sound of his phone going off distracted him from the simmering resentment he was feeling for Niseko-chan's parents; he was more than a little glad for that, since he didn't like how resenting people made him feel.

"It's Tensei," he greeted, settling down in one of the chairs that had been set up in the lounge area of his agency.

Smiling as he heard Tenya's voice, Tensei found himself sighing as the topic of their conversation shifted to Niseko-chan and how he was doing.

"Not that well," he said, in response to Tenya's questions. "It seems like being left by his parents for those three years has really had a profound effect on him," he continued, looking up toward the elevator as he found himself thinking about Niseko-chan again.

Really, the boy – Quirkless as he was – had been on his mind nearly since the day they had first met; the thought that anyone would just _abandon_ a family member for a simple disability wasn't one that he'd ever been comfortable with. No one in the Iida family would have ever done something like that, he knew.

Having found himself called back by Tsukauchi for a consultation, Toshinori couldn't help but wonder just what he'd been called back _for_. Knowing that the man who'd died – the man he'd been forced to kill, instead of watching him die slowly, infected by what Hisashi had described as weaponized _Ebola_ – had been suffering from an ailment that everyone who'd lived through that horrible night had thought was gone forever was unsettling in a way that Toshinori hadn't found himself feeling before. Still, maybe it was just the waiting getting to him.

Toshinori would be the first to admit that he didn't do nearly as well with waiting as Hisashi; he also supposed that patience came naturally to someone who was around a couple _centuries_ old.

"So, what was so urgent that you wanted me to stay here without even going home to change?" he asked, as Tsukauchi made his way back into the room, carrying a manila folder under his right arm.

"We ran some tests on what few samples we managed to collect from that man you brought in," Tsukauchi said, sitting down in the chair opposite him with a defeated sort of slump.

"What did you find?" he asked, knowing that Tsukauchi wouldn't have been reacting like _that_ if there wasn't something monumental and terrible going on.

"We tested his genetic code, and found a partial match to one of U.A.'s students. More specifically an exact, fifty percent match," Tsukauchi said, setting the folder down and bringing out a pair of photographs; one of them was of the man that Toshinori had found himself fighting in the Kiyashi Ward mall, while the other…

"Midoriya-chan?" he asked, finding that the words were almost _forced_ out of him.

The thought that _he_ had been the one to kill Bombalurina Midoriya's father came up for a moment, before Toshinori determinedly reminded himself that _that_ had been caused by whatever Villain group had ultimately been responsible for the destruction of the Rosaru Ward. It was because of _them_ that Midoriya-chan had lost her father not once, but _twice_. He'd just been there to end the poor man's suffering.

Mungojerrie Elliot, even in death, _would_ have justice for what those Villains had done to him.


	13. Heroes and Villains

When he arrived at the headquarters of Team Idaten for his internship, Tenya found the thought of Niseko Sezu lingering in the forefront of his thoughts. He wouldn't have thought anyone would even _think_ about abandoning one of their own children, just because they had been born Quirkless. Toshinori Shimura was Quirkless as well, and while he _hadn't_ been able to become a Pro Hero, his career as a social worker had done a great deal of good. And yes, while some of that _was_ probably due to his close relationship to Councilman Midoriya, a lot of it had been due to Toshinori's ability to empathize with people.

All kinds of people, apparently, since he'd heard more than a few people talking about a man by the name of Toshi; one who fit the description of Toshinori Shimura that he'd gotten from his brother, since he hadn't yet had the chance to meet the man in person.

Making his way inside the building, Tenya found himself confronted by the rather odd sight of Stendhal himself standing in front of Tensei. The both of them seemed to be discussing something having to do with the Hero internships that all of the first year students had been dispatched on. Curious, Tenya hurried closer.

"Well, that's about everything I can tell you about internships, Stendhal," Tensei said, grinning as he took his helmet off of the desk it had been resting on. "I'm still kind of surprised that you, of all people, chose to take on an intern, though."

Stendhal scoffed, though he seemed more _generally_ unimpressed than focused on anyone present. "I've heard this one's Quirk referred to as a utility Quirk, but that's only the limiting view of society. This one's determination impressed me."

He'd often heard Stendhal described as a man of few words, but this was the first time he'd actually had the chance to experience Stendhal's economy with words for himself. As he and Stendhal passed each other, he on his way to speak with Tensei and Stendhal on his way out after doing just that, Tenya paused for a long moment to study the other as he walked by. Stendhal's narrow, crimson eyes studied him for a long moment, before the man put his helmet back on and made his way out the door.

"What was _that_ all about?" he asked, once he'd made his way over to Tensei so that the pair of them could converse at a more normal volume.

Tensei laughed softly. "That's just the kind of man Stendhal is. If there's anything that man values more than dedication and hard work, it would have to be professionalism."

"I see," he said, looking out toward the path that Stendhal had taken when he'd left the building.

He could respect the man's dedication, at least, even if the only thing he really _knew_ about him was the fact that he didn't work for any Agency; he hadn't founded one of his own, either, hence why he was popularly known as the Freelance Hero.

_~MHA~_

Making his way into Best Jeanist's Hero Office, Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he saw all of the people – probably Sidekicks or something, given the way most of them were dressed, and sometimes how they looked – he saw in the main room of the Agency. Puffing air as he caught sight of Best Jeanist himself, Katsuki headed for the Pro to talk with the guy.

"Hey," he greeted, making his way up to where Jeanist himself was standing.

Most of the guy's face was covered by his costume, something that Katsuki had always found himself wondering about; maybe he'd ask about what the idea behind that was, if he was shy or if he just wanted to cultivate an air of mystery or something. There were other things too, of course, but he was probably going to have the chance to talk about _that_ later. He was also trying _not_ to pick up on any of Izuku's bad habits.

He'd been with the nerd long enough to recognize them, at least.

"Katsuki Bakugo," Best Jeanist said, sounding almost like he was testing the name out; in a weird way, it reminded him of Uncle Sashi. "To be perfectly honest, you're a great deal more brash than any of my other recruits. However, I _do _wish to know why you chose to intern with me to begin with. I suspect that it was _not_ simply because I am one of the Top Five most popular Heroes."

"Nah," he said, shrugging easily. "I mean, that _was_ part of it, but there's also your Quirk. I mean, I'm kind of surprised that someone with what most people would consider a utility Quirk would go into Pro Heroing in the first place, although it's possible that you _might_ end up inspiring a rash of nudist Villains, or something," he paused, shuddering. "Still-" blinking as he thought back on what the hell he'd actually been _saying_, Katsuki palmed his face. "Kill me, I'm turning into a nerd."

He couldn't quite be sure, since it was starting to seem like Best Jeanist was about as soft-spoken as Uncle Sashi – or maybe even more – but Katsuki almost thought he'd heard the Pro _chuckle_.

"Yes; it seems that you have a great deal of genuine interest in this internship," Best Jeanist said, and Katsuki found himself wondering if the man ever actually _smiled_. "Still, there remains the matter of your appearance, your mannerisms, and your manner of speech."

"Huh?" he asked, tilting his head.

He hadn't been expecting _that_.

_~MHA~_

Looking around at the small apartment she'd been directed to by Stendhal's letter, Momo found herself wondering just what the large building the apartment was attached to would end up being when she was finally able to see inside it. She knew from everything she'd read about the Pro, once he'd offered her an internship, that he didn't work for an Agency, and he hadn't founded one of his own, either. _Stendhal, the Freelance Hero,_ Momo reflected. _I wonder why someone like _that_ would offer me an internship._

Uwabami, the Snake Hero, had also made an offer, but Momo had been more curious about what Stendhal had had in mind when he'd made _his_ offer; Aizawa-sensei had informed her that he wasn't known for doing things like that.

Making her way up to the door of the apartment, Momo hit the chime and stepped back as the door was opened for her. Finding herself facing a tall, lanky, well-muscled man with narrowed, red eyes and a long, tightly-bound ponytail tied high at the back of his head.

"Good afternoon, sir," she said, bowing respectfully to the man as he stood before her. "My name is Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Current Hero name, Creati," Stendhal said, and Momo looked up to see that the man was wearing a rather thoughtful expression on his face. "Well then, let's see what we have to start with. Come inside. Did you eat before you came here?"

"Yes, sir," she said, following the man into a small, rather sparsely furnished apartment.

"As I understand, the proper functioning of your Quirk depends on a steady supply of calories," Stendhal said, leading them towards what seemed to be a small kitchen.

It was only sectioned off from the equally small dining room by the counters that surrounded the refrigerator, as well as holding the stove on the opposite side. Momo didn't know quite what to make of a place so _small_; really, Stendhal's entire _apartment_ seemed to be only two or at best two-and-a-half times the size of her _closet_ back home. She didn't know just how _anyone_ could live in such a tight space, but she supposed she was going to find out.

At least, while she was working with Stendhal.

_~MHA~_

The sight of Uncle Mirai, making his way up to him with Togata-sempai, brought a wider smile to Izuku's face.

"Hi, Uncle Mirai!" he called, hurrying up to where Uncle Mirai was standing.

"Izuku," Uncle Mirai greeted. "I'm glad to see that you've kept your cheerful enthusiasm from the last time we met."

"Thanks, Uncle Mirai," he said, grinning.

"Come on, Izuku!" Togata-sempai said, making his way over, a wide grin on _his_ face, as well. "Let's get you settled in!" Togata-sempai said, wrapping his right arm around Izuku's shoulders as he began to lead him up the stairs.

"As I understand, you've chosen the Hero name Myriad, in reference to the multi-faceted nature of your Quirk, as well as the many other Quirks that you have been able to collect," Uncle Mirai said, walking beside him and Togata-sempai as they made their way up to the second level. "It's a worthy choice. However, I do hope you've improved your writing skill. Try not to rely so much on puns that only work in English."

"Right, Uncle Mirai," he said, laughing softly as he continued on his way up the stairs.

Uncle Mirai, who'd worked as a Sidekick under Uncle Toshi using the name Sir Nighteye until he'd started his own work as a Pro and gone on to found his _own_ Agency, had always said that humor and energy were the most important things that Heroes – even if they _weren't_ Pros yet – could have. He'd gotten along really well with Granny Nana when he'd met her, of course, since she was always saying that Heroes should smile to put people at ease, and that _also_ meant that they needed to have humor and energy. Uncle Toshi had said that the pair of them had teamed up a lot, back when he and Uncle Mirai had been working together.

He knew that the both of them were still good friends all this time later, too, so that was good.

_~MHA~_

The sight of his sweet daughter laying in her hospital bed, though it _was _a marked improvement from being forced to observe her second-hand through the glass of the tank that Dr. Ujiko had been forced to place her in while she recovered from the symptoms of what the both of them had found to be only a slightly weakened version of Rosaru Fever, still brought out the familiar, simmering annoyance that Hisashi always found himself feeling when those he was fond of were threatened. It had been just the same with Shiro, though to a rather worse degree since his sweet, naïve little brother had been so sickly, as well.

The sight of Bombalurina-chan's right ear flicking, the way it seemed to do quite often when he would watch her as she woke up, brought a slight smile to Hisashi's face as he continued watching his little girl as she woke up slowly.

_/Papa?/_

"Welcome back, baby girl," he said.

He'd learned a long time ago that Bombalurina-chan's father had called her by that very name, during the time that she had been able to stay with him; it _was_ something of a comfort to her to hear such a thing, and so he was pleased to be able to offer Bombalurina-chan _something _of the life she'd lost.

_/Thanks, Papa,/_ Bombalurina-chan said, purring as he reached down to gently stroke between her ears. _/What happened?/_

For a long moment, Hisashi found himself wondering just what he should ultimately tell his sweet daughter about what had happened; what had become of her first father. Still, there _was_ a way for him to delay such a matter, something that would also give Bombalurina-chan a better chance to survive anything _else_ that might happen to her. He'd ordered Dr. Ujiko to take the opportunity he'd been presented with, while Bombalurina-chan had been in his care, to adjust her physiology so that she would be able to take another Quirk, in addition to the one he'd already provided her with when he'd first adopted his daughter.

A powerful regeneration Quirk, this time.

Pressing his right palm to her forehead, Hisashi drew upon the stockpile contained within All For One again; selecting one of the stronger regeneration Quirks that he'd collected, Hisashi pressed it into Bombalurina-chan's body and felt it begin to assimilate. Smiling softly as he watched a subtle twitch run up the length of her spine, Hisashi found himself reminded of the way Shiro had reacted when he'd first presented Stockpile to his sweet, naïve little brother. Bombalurina-chan settled back into the bed she was sleeping in, her body naturally returning to rest as the new Quirk she'd been given integrated with her physiology.

Tucking the covers more neatly around her slumbering form, Hisashi leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his sweet daughter's forehead.

_~MHA~_

Panting as she completed her regiment of assigned cool down stretches, Momo made her way into Stendhal's small kitchen so that she could grab a drink for herself. Stendhal, whose given name was Chizome Akaguro – though Momo wasn't quite sure if she was allowed to use the man's name, since he hadn't specifically given her that kind of permission – had been more serious about training her Quirk than anyone else she'd met. Even Aizawa-sensei didn't seem to be nearly as dedicated to bringing out the full potential of her Quirk as Stendhal was.

Settling down on a nearby chair, Momo turned her attention to the television. Taking a few moments to rest and replenish herself, since that was one of the many things other than combat that Stendhal encouraged her to do, since she would need to keep her stamina up both to use her Quirk, and to go out on the patrols Stendhal had insisted she come along on. When Momo found herself watching a commercial, one that seemed to star Kendo, two other women that Momo didn't recognize, and Uwabami the Snake Hero, she found herself more than a little surprised. As she watched more, however, Momo began to have the feeling that Kendo wasn't happy about what she was doing.

Momo didn't think that _she_ would have been happy with that kind of thing, either.

_~MHA~_

Looking up at the building where his current target was staying, Hari Kurono turned his attention to the tall, broad-framed man standing next to him. Kendo Rappa was many things, but subtlety was not one of them.

"You know why you're here," he said, narrowing his eyes behind the mask that all of the Eight Precepts wore.

"Yeah, yeah; you fetch the kid, I'll keep those Heroes off your back," Rappa answered, with the flippancy that had always annoyed Kurono whenever he would hear it. "I just hope I'll get to fight someone _strong_, for once."

Narrowing his eyes slightly further; truly, Rappa was nearly _more_ trouble than he was worth. "Just make sure you create enough of a distraction that my movements aren't impeded."

Not bothering to pay any mind to what else Rappa might have said, Kurono waited until he heard the sound of the veritable human wrecking-ball that was Kendo Rappa smashing his way into the building before beginning his own efforts at infiltration. There was little enough chance that _all _of Ingenium's sixty-five would leave for the battle that Rappa was instigating with them, and so Kurono would plan for just such contingencies while he was making his way into the building. After having studied the floor-plan of the building where the prize the boss wished for him to collect was actually _staying_, Kurono had naturally taken the time to plan his approach.

The same could hardly be said for Rappa, of course.

_~MHA~_

When he'd seen the concern that Yaoyorozu had shown, for a girl who wasn't even her classmate, Chizome had found himself more than a little impressed. True, such selfless compassion _was_ a trait that all true Heroes should cultivate within themselves, but then that was all the more reason to encourage such a development within the girl during the time the pair of them had to spend working alongside one another. In light of that, the decision to make a stop at Uwabami's Hero Agency was not such a difficult one.

Irksome as he found the woman's lack of properly professional conduct, he _could_ at least respect her dedication to her rescue work.

However, when the pair of them were about halfway between his small apartment and the Hero Agency that Uwabami had established for herself, an alert from the program he had monitoring police and Hero frequencies went off in the earpiece he was wearing as a part of his costume. Narrowing his eyes as he listened to the message that was going out, Stendhal turned his attention to Yaoyorozu.

"Creati, continue on without me," he ordered, narrowing his eyes still further as he began to receive details about the current cause of the alert.

"Wait, Stendhal," the young woman – the hero-in-training that he was meant to nurture for the whole of the week the pair of them would be working together for – called, causing Stendhal to pause for a long moment, turning back to her. "What do you mean by that? Where are you going?"

"There's been an attack on Team Idaten's headquarters," he said, beginning to move in that direction. "Given the reports I'm getting, it seems to be a single, powerful Villain who's responsible for it. However, as your purpose during this week does not entail setting yourself against a Villain of _this_ caliber, I think it would be best if you continued on without me. You _did_ say that you were concerned for your classmate, yes?"

"I am," Yaoyorozu said, an expression of admirable resolve appearing on her young face. "However, even if I _am_ unable to contribute in any meaningful way to the battle against that Villain, there are bound to be evacuation efforts I _can_ assist with."

Smiling under his helmet, pleased not only to see such dedication in one so young, but also to know that his assessment of Yaoyorozu's character had indeed been accurate, Stendhal called for Creati to follow him. Yes, this delay would likely cause its own share of problems, but knowing just how far the young hero-in-training's resolve would truly carry her was indeed worth the time. Truly, worthy results could not be achieved without resolve.

_~MHA~_

He and Tensei had just barely returned from their joint patrol, when a veritable _mountain_ of a Villain smashed his way through not only the front doors but also the front _wall_ of Team Idaten's ground floor.

"Tenya, look out!"

Dashing to the far side of the room, ducking out of the way of a hurtling _door_ that had nearly slammed into his head, Tenya panted as he found himself staring up at a huge man in what seemed to be some kind of an orca mask. He barely had a moment to wonder about that, before the giant man reared back and slammed _both_ of his huge fists into the floor underneath them. The sound of the huge man's wild laughter brought a strained grimace to Tenya's face.

"Well, looks like you two _are_ strong," the laughing Villain proclaimed, and Tenya thought it was very likely that the orca-patterned mask he was wearing now concealed a sharp, dangerous grin. "Good; this would be _so_ annoying if all I had to fight here were weaklings."

Narrowing his eyes as he attempted to determine just what kind of Quirk this man possessed, Tenya found himself wishing for a moment that Midoriya had been present, as well. Not only would his excitable classmate's vast array of Quirks be more than useful at a time such as this, but Midoriya also had a talent for swiftly analyzing Quirks; determining their strengths, weaknesses, and more crucially a way to overcome them.

It most likely stemmed from the nature of Midoriya's own Quirk, since an aptitude for analysis would be quite a bit more useful for someone whose Quirk allowed them to _replicate_ other Quirks with a simple ingestion of genetic material.

Before he could lament Midoriya's absence for any real amount of time, Tanya found himself having to dodge out of the way as a quartet of small, black spheres came flying out of the dust kicked up during the course of their battle with the immense Villain who had decided to attack Team Idaten. Turning to watch as Stendhal himself leaped into the room, eskrima sticks out and clearly fully prepared to engage the attacking Villain, Tenya found his attention snapped back to said Villain by a low, _annoyed_-sounding growl.

_~MHA~_

The sounds of Rappa's rampage through the lower-level of the building – the Hero Agency, with all of the Sidekicks that would have inevitably been causing trouble for him, if he'd not been quick enough to appropriate the uniform of one of the cleaning staff – gave Kurono at least _some_ assurance that he'd be able to collect the boss' prize without interference. Having made his way up the third level, which was apparently used for temporary or permanent living quarters according to the information that Shin had been able to obtain from one of the other workers who served this place, Kurono searched determinedly for his boss' prize.

More than anything, Chisaki wanted what Team Idaten had taken.

Nearly every door on this particular level was open, making it far simpler to search for the child than it would have been otherwise, and Kurono found himself grateful for small favors; at least Rappa was being _somewhat_ useful. Making his way over to the only closed door on the third level, Kurono tested it. Finding that it had not even _locked_ when Rappa had breached this building's forward defenses brought up a scornful sort of annoyance within Kurono.

Yes, it _was_ a useful development, but it was also another demonstration of the arrogance of the so-called Heroic society.

Standing inside the child's room, Kurono made his way to the side of Chisaki's prize. Wary, silver eyes had turned in his direction nearly as soon as Kurono had made his way through the door; it was only fitting, that the pure child Chisaki had sent him for would _also_ be the only one untainted by the arrogance of those surrounding him. Misguided as he was, however, the boy attempted to run from his salvation, and so Kurono quickly struck him across the back, Chronostasis taking effect as quickly as it ever had.

"Calm down, the effects will wear off after only a minute," Kurono reassured the child, making his way over so that he could inject the tranquilizer, calming the boy so that he would be able to transport the child back to Chisaki.

So that he could deliver the boss' prize at last.


	14. Moments to breathe

Helping Stendhal to settle down in the chair in the infirmary, Tenya found himself wincing as the Freelance Hero clearly struggled to settle himself in a nearby chair with his shattered right shoulder. It was an odd thing to think about, but that Villain who had attacked them – the man who had identified himself as Kendo Rappa – had actually seemed to be _pleased_ at the thought of being able to fight against him and Tensei. However, as though in direct contrast to such an attitude, Rappa had not been impressed in the slightest by Stendhal when the Freelance Hero had made _his_ appearance; it had seemed as though Rappa was disdainful of _anyone_ who fought using anything but physical abilities.

Or, perhaps anyone who fought using anything but their Quirk; Rappa may have spoken more than Tenya had been expecting a Villain to do, but Tenya would have been the first to admit that he hadn't truly been listening.

Standing back as the medical personnel tended to Stendhal, Tenya found himself wondering just what had precipitated the attack in the first place. Yes, he was fully aware that Villains tended to be of a more capricious sort than any Hero, professional or underground, but Rappa's attack on Team Idaten's headquarters had gained him nothing aside from his own capture. Yes, the man _had_ caused a great deal of generalized destruction to the reception area, and he had also managed to shatter Stendhal's right shoulder as well, but after Stendhal's Quirk had taken effect, all that Rappa had had to look forward to was a swift defeat and incarceration.

It didn't make any sense, as far as Tenya could see.

_~MHA~_

"What the hell're you doing to my hair?" Katsuki asked, trying as hard as he could to look up at where Best Jeanist was standing; hell, for a few seconds he'd found himself wishing that he could take his eyes out of his head so that he could get a look at just what in the hell the Number Four Pro was getting up to; it almost felt like the guy was putting _wax_ in his hair.

Maybe it was just really thick hair gel, or something.

"As a Pro Hero, your conduct must be impeccable; your presence must calm those in need," Best Jeanist said, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he felt the man continuing to comb the wax, or the hair gel, or whatever the hell it was, into his hair as he moved around the chair where he was sitting.

Biting his tongue to keep himself from laughing, even as Best Jeanist kept talking about elegance and other shit like that, Katsuki tried as hard as he could not to fidget. When Uncle Sashi would cut his hair, he'd have to sit down and not move for awhile so he didn't end up with a bunch of weird patches missing from his hair when Uncle Sashi got done with him, so it wasn't like he didn't know what to do or anything. Continuing to watch as Best Jeanist moved around him, working away at his hair with whatever the hell that waxy shit he was putting in his hair actually ended up _being_, Katsuki wondered again just what in the hell he was getting himself into.

Maybe this _wasn't_ his best idea.

_~MHA~_

Looking down at the pure, silver-eyed child in his arms, Hari Kurono felt a certain sense of accomplishment as he made his way back into the compound where Chisaki and the rest of the Shie Hassaikai were operating out of; the boss would be pleased to have the child in his care. Ever since he'd read Chizome Akaguro's article, detailing the way that the child's diseased parents had thrown the boy out of their home and their lives just as soon as they had been able to determine his purity, Chisaki had wanted nothing more than to take the child into their organization.

Not only for his purity, but also to protect him from a world that only saw fit to abuse him for such a quality.

Returning to the compound at last, Kurono made his way back inside once more.

"You found him," Chisaki said, making his way over to Kurono as he made his way down the corridor, the pure child still in his arms. "Were you forced to damage him?"

"No," he said, looking down at the boy as he began to stir slightly. "Though I suppose that I _did_ startle him when I came into his room. He tried to run, so I was forced to use my Quirk on him."

Chisaki hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose there was no helping it. Give him to me; I'll see that he gets settled in."

Handing the child over, smiling softly as Chisaki brushed the side of his face with his gloved fingertips, Kurono watched as Chisaki injected him with another dose of tranquilizer as he began to stir. Kurono nodded at Chisaki, as his old friend made his way down the corridor with the pure, silver-eyed child in his arms.

_~MHA~_

Stroking his dear daughter's left cheek, Hisashi pressed his right palm to Bombalurina-chan's head, smiling as he found out how well the regeneration Quirk he'd given his sweet daughter was settling in. He was pleased to know that Dr. Ujiko's efforts had had such beneficial results once more; his family would remain safe and protected, so long as he and those he had taken into his service were able to act in their defense. Standing back upright, as he saw Bombalurina-chan's eyes beginning to flutter in preparation for fully awakening.

"Welcome back, baby girl," he said, smiling as he stroked the left side of Bombalurina-chan's soft, furry face.

_/Papa,/_ Bombalurina-chan paused for a moment, half-closing her eyes in a way that he'd long-since learned was a sign that she was thinking deeply. _/Was I up before? I think I fell back to sleep./_

Hisashi chuckled softly. "You were still recovering; you just needed a bit more rest," he said, stroking between her ears as Bombalurina-chan started purring.

_/Oh,/_ his sweet daughter said, as he reached down to help her up from the bed that she'd spent entirely too much time in. _/I'm going to have a lot of homework to do after this, aren't I?/_ she continued, sighing softly.

Hisashi chuckled. "Yes; Izuku _was_ kind enough to collect what you needed from U.A.," he said, setting Bombalurina-chan back on her feet, and helping her to make her way over to where her shoes had been stored. "I'm afraid you _will_ have a number of missed assignments to catch up on when you return to school."

_/Great,/_ Bombalurina-chan muttered, picking up her shoes so that she could put them back on and have some proper support while she walked.

Stroking his sweet daughter's head as she prepared to leave Dr. Ujiko's care, Hisashi found himself pleased as he observed once again how well the regeneration Quirk he'd given to Bombalurina-chan was settling in; something such as this could _not_ be allowed to happen again.

_~MHA~_

Finding herself helping Ingenium and his sidekicks who had been injured in the battle with the Villain who'd attacked them, Momo wondered again just _why_ it was that Kendo Rappa had decided to attack Team Idaten's headquarters in the first place. The only thing the Villain had ended up actually _doing_ was getting himself paralyzed by Stendhal, captured by Ingenium, and then handed over to the police. Still, even as she continued to work to help the sidekicks who served Team Idaten, Momo couldn't quite stop herself from wondering what was going to happen next.

Using her Quirk to generate extra materials to aid with the repairs of Team Idaten's headquarters, Momo tried to put all of the other thoughts continually swirling around in her head aside; there would be time for contemplating that kind of thing later.

_~MHA~_

Chuckling as he continued patrolling alongside Best Jeanist, Katsuki tried as hard as he could not to roll his eyes as the Number Four Pro went on and on about how he was going to be expected to _conduct_ himself when he'd gotten his license and become a Pro himself. The sound of a couple kids, chattering away, didn't really catch his attention until one of them mentioned his name.

"Yeah, I think that's him!" the one in the middle shouted, just before all three of the little munchkins ran up to him.

Raising an eyebrow as he stopped, Katsuki folded his arms as the three little midgets all came scampering over to him. "So, what do you kids want?"

"You were the one who came in second in the Sports Festival!" the kid in the middle said, though there was something in the way the kid was looking up at him that gave Katsuki the idea that he and his little cohorts _weren't_ just here to pester him for autographs or something. "So, that girl you picked up after you beat her, was she your _girlfriend_?"

As soon as he heard that, Katsuki couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing. "What? _No_. She just kind of reminded me of someone I've known for a long time," he grinned wider. "In fact, she'd probably going to end up being _his_ girlfriend."

"Nitro," Best Jeanist called, and he turned to see the man making his way back over to where he was standing. "I'm glad you've taken my directives to heart, but we still need to finish our rounds."

"Right, moving on," he said, moving to catch up with his supervisor.

For his part, Katsuki was _glad_ that he hadn't run into any Villains while he and Best Jeanist had been working together; after seeing how badly sis had been hurt, all Katsuki wanted was to get back to her as soon as he could.

_~MHA~_

Once she'd been able to go back home – Papa had insisted on her staying home for at least another day, though she _had_ managed to talk him down from keeping her out for two – Bombalurina tried as best she could to put what she'd been through behind her. Papa _had_ always seemed to be the fussy type, something Bombalurina knew not only from her own experience but all of the stories that Toshinori – when he wasn't away being All Might, at least – and old lady Nana had told her about him when she'd asked. It seemed like worrying more about them all than they really needed was just Papa being Papa.

All that aside, it was nice to be able to go back _home_ again.

As soon as she'd gotten back to school, Bombalurina found that she _wasn't_ actually the main topic of conversation, which was nice but kind of strange all the same.

"Bambaa-san, it's good to see you again," Hitoshi said, as the pair of them met up with each other in the rush and crush of their fellow students on their way to class. "You might have heard this from someone else, but there was an attack on Team Idaten's headquarters by some huge, strong Villain."

_/That's awful,/_ she said, as the pair of them continued on their way to homeroom. _/Was anyone hurt?/_

"There _were_ a few injuries, but nothing anyone needed to call Sensei for," Hitoshi said, looking like he was at least _trying_ to be optimistic about everything that had happened.

_/That's good to know,/_ she said, still not quite sure how she should feel about everything that had happened.

Papa would probably be happy that he hadn't been called out again, since according to him there were always more people who needed his help, and he did still want to have _some_ time for himself.

_~MHA~_

Once enough of Team Idaten's headquarters had been repaired that their _entire_ crew had no longer been needed, Tenya had made his way up to the dorm levels so that he could check up on Niseko Sezu. The little boy was bound to be frightened by the sounds of battle that had been happening on the ground level, since it had probably been loud enough to sound as though it was just beneath him, and Tenya knew that _he_ would have wanted someone to come and explain what had just happened if _he_ had been the one trapped in his room while a fight was going on below him.

When he came to the room where Sezu-chan had been staying, however, Tenya found that the door had been left open. Worse, when he made his way inside, the only thing that he actually _found_ was the stuffed doll of Sensei that Sezu-chan had been so clearly attached to. Given even the little he actually _knew_ about Sezu-chan, Tenya knew that something terrible had to have happened; not only because he'd been separated from something he was so obviously fond of, but simply because he was _gone_.

Grabbing the toy of Sensei from the floor where it had been so ominously left, Tenya hurried out of the room; if they were ever going to be able to find out where Sezu-chan had been taken, it was imperative that he first told them he was _gone_.

_~MHA~_

Panting as he woke up, Niseko looked around the room he'd found himself in. It didn't look anything like the room he'd first gone to sleep in, but he'd only really been able to hope for _that_ as long as he'd been half-asleep. It'd probably been stupid, anyway, considering that he'd been grabbed and taken away from the place where he was staying by someone who _had_ to have been some kind of Villain. Niseko didn't know what any Villain would have wanted with _him_, but the more he thought about it, the more it started to seem like that _was_ what had happened.

"You _are_ awake," a strange, cold voice said, drawing Niseko's attention to the man standing next to the bed he'd been dropped in; the man staring at him with yellow eyes had short, spiked brown hair, and a strange, birdlike mask covering from the bridge of his nose all the way to his chin. "That's good. I do apologize for the way my associate scared you; it wasn't my intention to cause you any distress. You name is Niseko Sezu, yes?"

He didn't answer; there was just something about the way the man was staring at him that unsettled Niseko in a way he'd never experienced before.

"I'm sorry, it was rude of me not to introduce myself first," the man standing beside his bed – the man whose cold, yellow eyes _still_ seemed to stare right through him in a way that Tensei Iida's never had – said, reaching out to lay his right hand on top of Niseko's head. "My name is Kai Chisaki," the man continued, reaching out to force his chin back up when Niseko tried to duck his head.

Those cold, yellow eyes felt like they were piercing right _through_ him.

"You may feel free to call me Chisaki, Niseko-chan," the man – Chisaki, but Niseko didn't think he'd ever feel right calling him _that_ – said, and it almost seemed like he was trying to be nice.

At least, the _words_ he was saying sounded nice, but his eyes… Niseko didn't trust the man's eyes; not at all.

"I might need you for a few tasks, Niseko-chan, but you will be well taken care of, no matter what," the man said, standing up and finally, _finally_ leaving the room.

Shuddering, Niseko pulled the blanket up around his shoulders; he could only hope that that a Hero would come to save him, maybe even Sensei, if he was luckier than he really deserved.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he and the members of Team Idaten were all gathered in what seemed to be some kind of conference room, Chizome wondered just what discovery could have made Tenya Iida so stressed.

"Sezu-chan is gone," the boy said without preamble, as soon as the last of those who had been called to the meeting room had arrived.

Once he'd heard that name, those words that Tenya Iida had said, Chizome found that he couldn't hear anything over the roaring in his ears. It was _his_ doing; _he_ had been the one who revealed Niseko Sezu's location in the article that he'd written, and though his _intention_ had simply been to reveal the suffering of a Quirkless child to those who might help him, the results had been more terrible than he could have predicted. _His_ actions had led directly to Niseko's disappearance from the only other place that had offered him shelter.

The stuffed doll of Sensei, the one that Niseko had been so determined to keep close that it had almost seemed to _define_ him, lay in the center of the table; as though to further remind them all of the fact that he was _gone_.

_~MHA~_

It'd been a week since they'd all been gathered together in class like this, and after spending a whole week helping Uncle Mirai and Togata-sempai with patrols and doing paperwork, Izuku had found himself all the more grateful to be back. Still, there _had_ been an odd sort of tension lingering around Uncle Mirai, those times when they would meet up to talk about where he and Togata-sempai were going to be headed next, or what else they were going to be doing. Still, Uncle Mirai had kept the both of them busy enough that he hadn't had the chance to ask.

Finding himself working in the same building as Uncle Toshi had also given Izuku the chance to see personally just how hard Uncle Toshi drove himself, both in his guise as All Might, _and_ when he was working as Toshinori Shimura.

The sounds of his fellow classmates discussing their own internships brought his attention back to the present before Izuku could find himself reflecting _too_ deeply about whatever it was that had been distracting Uncle Mirai during the week that he'd been working under the man, and Izuku quickly found his seat, watching as his classmates continued talking about the things that they'd seen and done during the course of _their_ internships.

"Seeing Stendhal in action, I fully understand how his dedication has been able to inspire so many others to work to their own fullest potential," Iida-san said, though there was a dark look in his eyes that reminded Izuku more than a little of the way Uncle Mirai had looked, those few times he'd caught him in a moment of open vulnerability.

He didn't have that much time to think about what might have been the commonality between them, because Tenko-nii came dragging Aizawa-sensei into the room so that they could all start class for the day. After the first half of the day's classes had been completed, Uncle Toshi came in to bring them all out to another of U.A.'s training grounds for another round of… well, training.

"I am Here!" Uncle Toshi announced, loud and bombastic as he ever was in his All Might persona. "Hope you're ready to return to our lessons! Today, it's Hero Basic Training! Feels like I haven't seen you in awhile; welcome back," Uncle Toshi added, almost as an aside. "Now then, listen carefully for what's in store: we're going to be conducting a little race! Take everything you've learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training!"

"If it's rescue training, then shouldn't we be at the U.S.J. instead?" Iida-san asked, his right hand snapping into the air while Uncle Toshi had paused for breath.

"Ah, _that_ facility specializes in disasters," Uncle Toshi said, taking up the thread of his explanation without missing a beat. "As I said earlier, _this_ is a race."

Once Uncle Toshi had laid out the particulars of this latest training exercise of theirs, he split them up into groups of five and set them out across the length of Gym Gamma. He ended up in the first group, the way he'd kind of been expecting, alongside Ojiro-san, Iida-san, Ashido-san, and Sero-san. After he'd taken in the lay of the land, determining just what kind of Quirk would be best suited for the kind of terrain that he'd found himself confronted by, Izuku tapped the left side of his helmet and called up his copy of Bambaa-chan's Quirk.

The top of his helmet opened to accommodate the growth of his ears as they changed size, shape, and their position on his head, and Izuku shifted again to loosen the mesh that fit over his tail, even as the boots that he was wearing stretched and reconfigured to support his altered feet. Leaping out onto a nearby pipe, Izuku hopped from pipe, to rooftop, to ladder, to tower, to tank, and then back to pipe to start the whole cycle over again.

The sight of Sero-san, swinging over his head, drew his more motion-oriented eyes , and Izuku found himself purring in amusement as he continued on his way.

As fast as he'd been moving, Izuku ended up actually _rolling over_ when he tried to stop at the point where Uncle Toshi had been sitting, tumbling head-over-tail as he tried to dig his claws into the tarmac to at least slow himself down before he could end up falling off the edge of the structure.

"Good work, young Sero!" Uncle Toshi enthused, as Izuku drew Bambaa-chan's Quirk back into the greater whole of his own All For One. "However, it's important to remember that having the speed to reach your destination isn't enough, if you end up overshooting or losing your balance and can't recover fast enough to actually _help_ anyone."

_~MHA~_

Looking over at Midoriya-kun, as he suppressed the Quirk that he'd clearly copied from his adopted sister, Toshinori found the smile that he habitually wore as All Might widening as the next group of five came up to the starting area. Even though he hadn't _quite_ managed to make it in time to be called the winner of the race, he'd still clearly learned to use his sister's Quirk better. Now, he just needed to learn to stay on his feet – or at least _upright_ – when he came to a stop after a good burst of speed.

"Meet up with me after class," he said, making his way over to Midoriya-kun, before the boy could get lost in the rush of his classmates as they made their way out of Gym Gamma now that their training was done for the day. "There's some family business we need to discuss."

"Right," Midoriya-kun said, smiling as he turned to join the rest of his classmates on their way to the changing room. "Thanks for letting me know."

Making his own way back into the building, Toshinori found himself reflecting on the people he was going to be meeting once he made it to his office. Sir had his own ideas about who should inherit One For All, so he had sent Mirio Togata – someone Midoriya-kun had worked with more than a few times, and had probably gotten to be friends with given that the pair of them had met so early, at least in Midoriya-kun's life – to the meeting that was going to be held at the end of the day. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Toshinori focused his attention back on the jobs he still had in front of him.

No matter what else was going on in his life, he would always have work to do.

_~MHA~_

Joining up with the other boys in the changing room, Izuku narrowed his eyes as he spotted Mineta-san waving him over from a spot by the far right wall.

"Midoriya, look!" the short, shamelessly perverse user of the Pop-Off Quirk called, waving him over. "Look! The previous generation gave us a gift! Someone shawshanked a hole in this wall!"

_I should've known,_ Izuku mused, finding himself feeling a mix of annoyance and amusement. Grabbing Mineta-san's left ear, Izuku firmly yanked him away from what truly _did_ look like a small hole that'd been drilled in the wall. "Yaoyorozu-san, if you're still in there, you should probably make some clay or something to block up this hole."

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," Yaoyorozu-san said, and Izuku acknowledged her as he turned to make his way to the door; Mineta-san had already been dressed while he was trying to spy on their female classmates, so Izuku didn't hesitate to toss him out the door by his ear, with a swift kick in the butt to get him moving. _Unbelievable,_ Izuku mused, shaking his head as he made his way back to the changing room to he could finish dressing up.


	15. Togata and Todoroki

Once classes had ended for the day, Izuku made his way to Uncle Toshi's office so that they could have the meeting that his uncle had hinted he was going to have. Given what Uncle Toshi hadn't been able to actually _say_, he expected that Todoroki-san would be there as well. There _were_ a few more things that someone should know, if they were going to inherit One For All, and given what he'd heard Uncle Mirai talking about during his internship, he suspected that Togata-sempai would be there, too.

Once he'd made it to Uncle Toshi's office, the one where he worked when he was actually _being_ Uncle Toshi rather than All Might, he knocked and found himself invited inside.

"Izuku."

"Oh, hi Dad," he greeted, finding himself wondering just why in the world he'd even been surprised in the first place.

Since Dad was the one who had made One For All in the first place, it only made sense that he'd be there to explain about the Quirk and its history. Looking over as Togata-sempai called his name, Izuku smiled as he made his way over to sit down beside his old friend. Todoroki-san was there too, but he didn't really seem to want to be. Izuku found himself wondering why Todoroki-san was even staying in the first place, but…

Well, it seemed a lot like he both did _and_ didn't want to have anything to do with One For All.

Dad started talking about his past with Uncle Shiro once all of them had settled down, how he'd started building up a place where the first few people who'd started gaining Quirks could be safe from people who might want to hurt them, and then when Uncle Shiro had started to worry about what was happening in the world, how Dad had asked him to look after the children. Both the children that those people who'd decided to follow him had wanted to start having, and those he'd rescued from disasters or other people who'd tried to hurt them.

When Dad told them about how he gave his brother, who'd always been smaller and had a less hardy constitution than he did, a Quirk that had initially been meant to help him _keep up_ with the energetic children that by then had become more or less a permanent addition to Dad's steadily-growing, protected settlement, Izuku turned to look over at Uncle Toshi as he laughed.

"You know, Hisashi, I have it on good authority that you were just as much of a mother hen back in your brother's day as you are now," Uncle Toshi said, grinning slyly as Dad turned to him with a sort of mix of amusement and mild annoyance.

Togata-sempai laughed. "I think it's great; while you were out protecting people, a part of you was also staying behind to look after your brother, too," then he paused, and seemed to be thinking deeply about something or other. "Do you think that, with the way Izuku can copy Quirks by absorbing some of the user's DNA, he might be able to make a copy of One For All the way he's done with so many others?"

"I suppose it _might_ be possible, though I don't know if the mechanics of the Quirk would allow for that," Dad said, while Uncle Toshi looked from him to Dad and back again like he didn't know what to make of the current topic. Dad turned to him, then, an interested expression on his face. "Would you like to try, Izuku?"

"I guess," he said, though he really didn't know what had prompted Togata-sempai to think of what he'd just suggested; it could have just been because he knew that Izuku _could_ copy Quirks, and he'd just been told how One For All was passed on through nearly the same process.

"All right, then," Uncle Toshi said, standing up and transforming into the powered-up form that had One For All flowing through him, in a way that would also allow him to pass it on to someone he'd decided was worthy of the Quirk.

And, that also might allow Izuku to use his own Quirk to copy it, the way he'd done with so many others. Uncle Toshi plucked out one of the long, golden hairs that stuck up in the "V" shape that had come to almost define him as much as being the Symbol of Peace, handing it to him. Putting the hair in his mouth, Izuku swallowed it.

_~MHA~_

He knew that it would take some time for Izuku's variant of All For One to begin assimilating the new DNA that he had just taken in, but Hisashi could admit to having more than a bit of curiosity about just what would happen when Izuku began to assimilate One For All in earnest. Still, he couldn't help but be aware of the way that Shoto-kun seemed to be wavering; _something_ within him seemed to want to take One For All, through presumably it was the same part of him that had looked with such longing at the way he, Izuku, and Bombalurina-chan had all interacted when they were together.

It seemed as though Shoto-kun was arguing with himself over something; there might, therefore, be something that Hisashi could do to _resolve_ such a disagreement.

Getting a fix on Shoto-kun with his Panoception Quirk, he bid Toshinori and Mirio-kun a fond farewell as he made his way down the path that Shoto-kun had taken. Given his posture, it seemed that Shoto-kun was even more troubled than he'd been expecting.

"Shoto-kun."

_~MHA~_

The sound of Midoriya's father calling to him drew Shoto up short; he almost didn't _want_ to look back, to see the kindness in the bright crimson eyes of the man who had raised Midoriya and his sister into the kind of people who would offer their warmth to someone they barely knew. He almost didn't _want_ to see the man's fluffy, white hair; the color was so much like Mom's, even though the pair of them didn't look all that much alike beyond that. Midoriya's father had much stronger features, and Mom didn't have freckles.

Still, the kindness in their eyes was just the same; Mom and Midoriya's father were so much alike, it almost made him _want_ to take One For All.

"Midoriya-san," he greeted, turning around but keeping his head lowered enough that he wouldn't be able to see the kind eyes and white hair of Midoriya's father.

"You left so suddenly," the man said, leaning down slightly; Shoto lowered his head just that much more. "Is something wrong?"

Breathing deeply for a long moment, trying to regain his composure in the face of the man who reminded him so much of Mom that the absence _ached_ inside, Shoto tried to hold himself together. His body seemed to move before he'd actually _decided_ anything, and Shoto found himself wrapped up in the large, strong arms of Midoriya's father. Even feeling the man's large, powerful hands through his clothes – something that would have otherwise reminded him of his father, since the pair of them _were_ about the same size – didn't remind him of Endeavor so much as he found himself reminded of Mom all over again.

It was the way that Midoriya's father was holding him, one of his large hands rubbing gentle circles on Shoto's back, even as Midoriya's father picked him up and leaned against the wall for a long moment.

For a few, long moments Shoto found himself not even _wanting_ to leave Midoriya's father's arms; but he knew he had to. If he was ever going to be able to make any kind of decision about One For All – a decision that was his alone, and not something that he was trying to do for or against Endeavor – there was someone that he was going to need to speak to. There was something that he needed to resolve for himself.

Midoriya's father seemed to understand, when he pulled away, since Midoriya's father let him go so he could stand back on his own feet.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," he said, bowing deeply to the man.

"Of course, Shoto-kun," Midoriya's father said, and Shoto didn't quite know what to say when the man reached into his right pocket and fetched a handkerchief, handing it over to him. "I keep more than a few around," Midoriya's father continued, a gentle sort of amusement in his tone. "Izuku and Inko… Well, the both of them have more than a little in common when it comes to emotional expression. Keep it, Shoto-kun; it seems you need it yourself."

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," he said, bowing deeply again, as he turned to make his way back out of U.A.

There was still someone he needed to speak to, after all.

_~MHA~_

Finding himself still thinking about Todoroki-san, even as Uncle Toshi drove them all back home for the day, Izuku made up his mind that he would talk to Dad as soon as they'd all got home; or at least after dinner, since that was the _actual_ first thing they were all going to do when they got back home. Once dinner was finished – Mom had fixed katsudon again, which was nice, and he made sure to thank her for it – Izuku went to find Dad so that the both of them could talk.

More than anything, he just wanted to know if Todoroki-san was all right.

Later, once he'd made his way back to his room, making his way over to his desk to start his homework, Izuku… _suddenly found himself walking into a dark, shadowed void. Looking around, as best he could when he didn't know if he was even __**moving**__, Izuku began to see people… he thought there might have been six, maybe seven of them… Or no, maybe eight?_

_The one in the middle turned to him before Izuku could quite manage to count __**every**__ one of the figures standing in the strange, not-space that Dad had described to him when he'd asked about what __**his**__ Quirk was like…_

…"_Uncle Shiro?"_

"_Is __**that**__ what he's still calling me?"_

_There was a suggestion of amusement that seemed to permeate the non-space – or maybe he should call it __**Quirk**__-space – he was currently in, as he and the shade of Uncle Shiro met for the first time. The sense of someone else, someone more familiar, encroaching on the Quirk-space where he, Uncle Shiro, and whoever those other people were drew Izuku's attention before Uncle Shiro could say anything else._

"_Izuku?"_

"_Uncle Toshi?"_

"_Ah, it seems like I have more family here than I thought."_

_For a few moments, as the three of them all stood together in the Quirk-space that they had all been gathered in, Izuku almost thought that he could see Uncle Shiro smiling…_

"_Well, if __**he's**__ going to keep calling __**me**__ by that silly little nickname that he made up, I suppose there's really only one thing I can do…"_

_Izuku would have __**sworn**__ that he could see Uncle Shiro grinning, just before the shade of his paternal uncle leaned over to them…_

Breathing deeply as he found himself back in his room, Izuku couldn't quite stop himself from outright giggling.

"_Fluffy_?" he muttered, falling back into snickers.

_~MHA~_

The next day, when they'd all gathered together at U.A. again and Tenko-nii had dragged Aizawa-sensei into the room so that they could all get this day started, Izuku noticed that Todoroki-san _did_ seem to be doing a bit better. Which was good, but Aizawa-sensei started speaking before he had the chance to do more than look over at his red-and-white haired classmate. The one who might very well end up being Uncle Toshi's successor.

"As you all know, it's almost time for summer vacation," Aizawa-sensei said, drawing their attention to him, even as Tenko-nii leaned back against the wall, clearly taking what time off he could before he had to drag Aizawa-sensei off anywhere else. "Don't get _too_ excited; you can't just relax an entire month. You'll all be training, while you're camping in the woods."

_Oh, so _that's_ what Dad and Uncle Toshi were talking about,_ Izuku reflected, as the class as a whole erupted into enthusiastic planning and general chatter on the subject of the summer camp experience; though it kind of sounded like they'd forgotten that it was supposed to be a _training_ camp, considering the main thrust of their comments. Really, it was kind of funny.

"_However,_" Aizawa-sensei continued, a flash of Erasure adding emphasis to his pronouncement. "Those of you who don't pass the final exam before the semester is over, will have summer school."

_That_ got the class' attention, and Izuku found himself rather amused as the chatter all around him grew both more excited _and_ more apprehensive, as the subject of what they were actually going to be _doing_ when they all headed for the training camp came up and was inevitably picked apart. Chuckling softly as Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei back out of the room, Izuku waved as Tenko-nii grinned.

"See you at lunch, Zu-chan."

"Yeah, see you then, Tenko-nii!" he called back, laughing softly.

Their studies for the day seemed a bit more intensive, which Izuku supposed fit since final exams _were_ coming up and every one of their teachers clearly wanted them to succeed, but all the while Izuku found himself aware of Todoroki-san's regard. He'd heard from Dad about the way Todoroki-san had reacted to him, and now he found himself wondering what was going on with him. He would try to make it a point to catch up with Todoroki-san when he could, but with everything that was going on today, Izuku knew that there was every chance that he wouldn't be able to do anything like that.

He'd at least do what he could, since Todoroki-san still looked fairly shaken; or at least unsettled.

Settling back into the day's routine, intensified as it was by the expectation of the approaching final exams, Izuku kept a discreet eye on Todoroki-san, at least as well as he could. Soon enough, Izuku found himself facing the end of the day, watching as Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag into the classroom for the last announcements before school let out.

"All right, that's it for class today. There's only one week left before your final exams begin; I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right?" Aizawa-sensei asked, unimpressed gaze making a long, slow sweep of the room before he continued. "Don't forget to keep training. As Hero Course students, the written exam is only _one_ element; there's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck."

_Comforting, as usual,_ Izuku found himself musing, as the entire _class_ basically burst into nervous chatter.

"So, the usual study party at your house, eh nerd?" Kacchan drawled, turning laconically toward him.

Izuku chuckled softly. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Hey, would you guys mind if I came over, too?" Kirishima-san asked, making his way over to where the pair of them were sitting.

"Yeah, that's okay," he said, finding it almost impossible _not_ to smile back in the face of Kirishima-san's enthusiasm, or the clear worry he could see underneath it. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind."

Making their way out to the cafeteria, Izuku found himself surrounded by Kacchan on his right, and Kirishima-san on his left. Settling down at a table with Iida-san, Ochako-san, and Asui-san on the opposite side of the table, Izuku blew on his steaming bowl of katsudon to cool it down a little, before he picked up a bit of pork. Before he could take his first bite, though, Izuku found his cheeks being pushed together by an annoyingly familiar presence.

"Neito-kun, stop squishing me," he said, as well as he could through the distortion of his face.

"Aw, but this is the only time I really get to _see_ you, partner," Monoma said, and Izuku could practically _hear_ the smug, teasing grin on his face.

"Fuck off, and stop molesting my nerd, asshole," Kacchan said, clearly more annoyed than usual with Monoma and everything he was doing.

Just before Monoma could start protesting – which he knew Monoma would do, since he'd always done it before whenever Kacchan would call him out on that kind of thing – Kendo-san chopped him in the side of the neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks, Kendo-san," he muttered, as Itsuka Kendo gathered Monoma's slumped form up, clearly getting ready to drag him off the way she'd done so many times before.

"Don't mention it, Midoriya," Kendo-san said, and Izuku looked over to see her smiling gently at him. "Hey, in case you're worried about the practical exams, I've heard that it's going to be another fight with those robots from the entrance exam."

"Thanks for telling us, Kendo-san," he said, as Monoma began stirring again.

"Kendo, you knew that _I_ wanted to be the one to tell him about that," Monoma said, a distinct, whining tone to his voice.

"Well then, maybe you should have thought of that _before_ you decided to start feeling Midoriya up for Quirks," Kendo-san said, turning an unimpressed expression on Monoma as she kept dragging him away.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly after that, the only slightly surprising thing that happened was Todoroki-san asking to come with them when they all went home for the day, and even _that_ wasn't so surprising since he'd been aware of Todoroki-san's regard during the course of the day. Mom was right there to meet them at the door, the way she always was, but it was the presence of Togata-sempai _inside_ the main foyer that actually managed to _surprise_ him.

"Togata-sempai, what're _you_ doing here?" he asked, making his way over the tall blond; Togata-sempai grinned easily.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes at the Freelance Hero, Sir Nighteye folded his hands under his chin. "So, your efforts at revealing the precarious situation that this Niseko Sezu had found himself in led directly to the attack on Team Idaten?"

"Yes," Stendhal said, crimson eyes sliding away for a moment, before the man seemed to force himself to face Nighteye head-on. "I was the one who revealed Sezu's presence in the article I wrote. I know that those Villains had no connection to me, but I was still the one who made it possible for anyone who might have had ill intent to find him. I need to take responsibility for that."

"Very well," he said, nodding. "We've been making an inquiry into this group," he continued, adjusting his glasses as the Freelance Hero stood rigidly before his desk; he suspected that the man thought it was _entirely_ his responsibility to see to the rescue of Niseko Sezu, a mistaken impression that would need to be corrected if Stendhal was indeed to be integrated into the assault force they were steadily forming. "We suspect that they're some remnant of the Yakuza that had the foresight to go underground during the time that the rest of their organization was dealt with by the rise of the Pro Hero system."

"I see," Stendhal muttered, clearly absorbed deeply in thought once more.

_~MHA~_

"You know, I always keep forgetting how _good_ this tuna casserole is," Togata-sempai said, enthusiastically taking a bite of Bambaa-chan's favorite dish; the one that she herself couldn't actually have too much of, given how her original Quirk worked.

_/Yeah; sometimes I can forget that kind of thing, myself,/_ Bambaa-chan said, taking a bite of her own food, before returning her attention to the workbooks that they'd all brought to the large table that she, Kacchan, Kirishima-san, Todoroki-san, Togata-sempai, and Izuku had all settled around to study for the upcoming final exams.

The easy silence that they'd been operating under since they'd all gathered together fell over them again, and when the six of them took a break to head for the gym to work out so that they'd be in good shape for _both_ parts of the final exam, Izuku found that Todoroki-san's eyes were still fixed on him. He wondered just when Todoroki-san was going to do something _besides_ staring at him, but he didn't think Todoroki-san was the kind of person who would want to talk in front of anyone uninvolved. Or, at least that was the feeling he kept getting, given the way Todoroki-san acted.

_~MHA~_

Looking over at Midoriya, as he tested the Quirks that his father had probably given him – the large, dark-green wings that he could extend or retract at will in particular – against his fellow students, as well as the obstacles that had been set up within this part of the gym that Midoriya and his family had clearly made use of enough times that they knew their way around almost by instinct, Shoto watched as Midoriya and Togata-sempai clashed. Togata-sempai's Quirk seemed to be the ability to pass through things, almost like he was some kind of ghost.

It wasn't the strangest Quirk he'd ever seen, but Shoto couldn't help wondering how One For All would interact with it; it was the same kind of thing he'd found himself wondering about his _own_ Quirk, as he'd been considering what he was going to do. Talking to Mom _had_ helped, and Shoto found himself wanting more and more to become a part of Midoriya's family. Still, he wasn't quite ready to talk about that kind of thing with all of the _other_ people who'd come to Midoriya's house to study with him.

Even with Togata-sempai, who seemed to have been put up as Shimura-san's potential successor by someone who had worked as a Sidekick under Shimura-san during the prime of his Pro Hero career.

Once they were all done, making their way out of the gym, Shoto fell into step with Midoriya.

"Midoriya, do you think your mother and father would mind if I stayed over for the night?" he asked. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"I think it'd be all right," Midoriya said, green eyes that were as kind as his father's – for all that they were nearly the complete opposite when it came to color – turning to regard him as the pair of them talked in low tones. "I can talk to them for you, if you want."

"We'll talk to them together," he said, resolving himself to speak to Midoriya's father.

After everything the man had done for him, it was the least he could do.

_~MHA~_

Finding himself working alongside a task force that had been formed to take on the remnants of the Yakuza – remnants that had somehow managed to escape from the Pro Heroes that had set out to deal with them; and in particular the legendary duo of Seven Strong and All Might, both of whom had worked beside a nameless Hero who seemed to possess some kind of Quirk that allowed him to manipulate elemental forces – was a rather odd thing, Stendhal found himself reflecting. Working with the man who had been a Sidekick to All Might – the Hero he respected above all others – was something that Stendhal often found his thoughts wandering to.

At least long enough for him to _notice_ the direction of his thoughts, and force them back on-track; there were more lives than just his own at stake, here and now.

_~MHA~_

After talking to Dad about what Todoroki-san had asked him, Izuku had offered to let Todoroki-san stay in his room for the night, since the pair of them _were_ in the same class, and there was also clearly something that Todoroki-san wanted to talk to him about.

"So, Todoroki-san, what _did_ you want to talk to me about?" Izuku asked, settling down on his bed, after he'd finished helping Todoroki-san get the roll-away bed he was going to be using during the night.

"Midoriya," Todoroki-san said, turning his heterochromatic eyes on him as the both of them sat down on his bed. "He might have already told you, but your father and I spoke, just after our discussion about All Might's Quirk."

"Yeah," he said. "Dad told me that you didn't seem to be feeling well. I mean, he didn't say you were _sick_ or anything, but-"

"I know," Todoroki-san said, and Izuku thought that he could see the smallest, faintest smile on the other boy's face; he could have been imagining it, though. "I spoke to your father, then I spoke to my mother. Your father actually reminds me of her; the both of them are such kind people."

Reaching out to touch Todoroki-san's right shoulder, Izuku felt the other boy lean lightly against him for a moment. "I'm glad he could help you, too, Todoroki-san."

_~MHA~_

The day of the written exams came and passed, and Izuku found himself more than a little impatient to find out just what it was that they were _actually_ going to be doing for the practical exam. The air of worry that had been clinging stubbornly to Uncle Toshi – plainly obvious given the strained smiles he was trying to hold on his face, and the increasing amounts of time he was spending away from home, not to mention the sight of Uncle Mirai around the house and the way the pair of them would stop talking whenever he came into the room – had all combined to give him the distinct impression that, whatever _was_ going to happen, it wasn't going to be anything that'd happened before.

Settling back down at his desk, as the chatter in the classroom began turning toward happiness that that part of the exams was over, as well as the somewhat complicated issue of getting them all over to the Central Plaza of the practical exam area; something that he and Yaoyorozu-san, as Class Rep and Deputy Class Rep respectively, ended up being responsible for. Finding himself facing down the U.A. teaching staff, Izuku couldn't help but think that there was something more to the practical exam than Kendo-san had been aware of.

"Now then, let's begin the last test," Aizawa-sensei said, once all of them had gathered together, in full costume and prepared to face… whatever it was that they were going to be facing, for this particular exam. "Remember: it's possible to _fail_ this final. If you want to go to camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect many of you have gathered information, and believe you have _some_ idea what you'll be faced with today."

After Kaminari-san's and Ashido-san's outburst, Principal Nedzu popped out of Aizawa-sensei's capture scarf, rappelling down the side of their Homeroom teacher's tall, lanky form. After explaining that the practical exams were going to be structured differently than they had been in the past – something Izuku was fairly sure would tie into the reason that Uncle Toshi was acting so strained and secretive, not to mention how often he seemed to be meeting with Uncle Mirai lately – he continued on to name the pairs that would be facing off against the teachers who had gathered for the practical exam.

He and Yaoyorozu-san had been paired up for some reason, and they were going to be facing off against Aizawa-sensei; Kirishima-san and Sato-san were going to be facing Cementoss-sensei; Asui-san and Tokoyami-san had been set against Ectoplasm-sensei; Iida-san and Ojiro-san were facing off against Power Loader-sensei; Ochako-san and Aoyama-san were fighting Thirteen-sensei; Ashido-san and Kaminari-san had actually been set up against the Principal himself, which Izuku thought was a bit strange; Kouda-san and Jiro-san were facing off against Present Mic-sensei; Hagakure-san and Shoji-san were facing off against Snipe-sensei; Sero-san and Mineta-san were fighting Midnight-sensei, and Kacchan had been partnered with Todoroki-san. But, as for who they were going to be _fighting_…

"Well, Kacchan, I'll make sure to ask Yaoyorozu-san for a spatula," he said, grinning in that wide, toothy way that Dad would when _he_ was teasing someone. "For when we have to scrape you off Uncle Might's boots."

"I'll show _you_ who's getting scraped up, nerd!" Kacchan growled playfully, grabbing him and grinding his fists into both of Izuku's cheeks.

Laughing, Izuku struggled briefly, before a laughing Uncle Toshi separated the pair of them.

_~MHA~_

Looking back at the nice, silver-eyed boy who had been brought in by the bird-faced people she'd been living with for all of her life, Eri opened her mouth. She _wanted_ to say something to the nice boy, but Overhaul had told her that she wasn't supposed to talk to the silver-eyed boy. He'd said it was because she was cursed, and the nice silver-eyed boy was pure. Everyone who'd been around her told her that she was cursed; even Mommy, when she'd hurt Daddy with her curse.

Looking back, she saw that the nice silver-eyed boy looked like he was going to say something to her, but then he stopped; he was probably scared of her curse, just like everyone else.

Really, she didn't know why he was even following her, unless he was actually _more_ scared of Overhaul and all the bird-faced people than he was of her curse. He _did_ seem to be really scared of everyone, ever since she'd seen him for the first time. Still, as soon as she had run from her handler, Eri had found that he was following her out of the building.

She didn't quite know what he was going to do, once they had both gotten out of the building, but both of them would at least be away from all the bird-faced people. And Overhaul; even the nice, silver-eyed boy was scared of _him_. She almost wanted to try talking to him, since the both of them were far enough away from Overhaul and all of the bird-faced people that they probably wouldn't be able to find out.

But, she was still cursed, and he was still pure; he probably wouldn't want to talk to her, anyway.

_~MHA~_

He'd been watching all of his classmates as they'd been facing off with the various teachers they'd been set against, taking notes and being teased by Kacchan as he did, up until the point where he and Yaoyorozu-san were called out for their own battle with Aizawa-sensei. He and Yaoyorozu-san made their way out to the testing area, and Izuku leaned in slightly so that he and Yaoyorozu-san could finalize their plans.

Given who they were about to be facing, that was the best thing they _could_ do.

_~MHA~_

Making his way through the testing-grounds, Shouta narrowed his eyes as he spotted a door that had been left slightly open. _Looks like they're not paying attention to _everything_ they're doing,_ he mused, pushing open the door and making his way inside. Technically, no one was supposed to be breaking into one of the empty houses in this area, but no one had actually _said_ that. He'd have to speak to the both of them when he found them, but just after he'd made his way inside the mock residence, Shouta heard the door he'd just come through slam shut behind him.

_So it was a trap,_ he mused, smirking. _Clever._

When he'd made his way back over to the door, Shouta found that it'd been jammed shut with something, and smirked all the wider. Popping out the screen of a nearby window, Shouta looked at the _chair_ that had been wedged under the doorknob on the outside. _All right, it looks like you kids _have_ been planning your moves. Let's see what else you can do._

Making his way back out into the street, Shouta whipped his head around at the sound of running feet, activating Erasure and lashing out with his capture weapon to snare… A remote-controlled car, with Midoriya's boots trailing from the back of it by a pair of strings, and the remote itself secured firmly to the front of it. Finding himself chuckling almost against his will, as he pulled the remote from the car and turned the car itself off, Shouta turned at the found of what seemed to be someone else running past him.

As he'd begun to suspect, it was another one of those rigged, remote-controlled cars.

Shaking his head as he made his way up to the rooftops, Shouta studied the paths that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu might use for their approach to Nedzu's escape gate. Narrowing his eyes as he looked at all of the plants and bushes that had been arranged around the faux houses, Shouta found himself contemplating another possibility. Yes, it _was_ true that this place had been designed to look like a real neighborhood, but those same ornamental bushes and shrubs could also be used to conceal someone about Midoriya's size.

Yaoyorozu might have a harder time, however.

Leaping across the rooftops, heading for the gate so that he could intercept any move that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were likely to make, Shouta found himself brought up short as a massed charge suddenly broke out for the gate. Every one of the figures was covered in the kind of camouflage netting that Shouta suspected Midoriya and Yaoyorozu had been using from the beginning of this particular exercise, and each of them was sprinting for the gate.

Launching himself forward, he kicked the three figures running at the extreme left side of the group; they toppled over to reveal what looked like coat racks, attached to yet more of those remote-controlled cars. One of the figures toward the middle twisted around, grabbing another of the figures and incidentally revealing himself as Midoriya, as well. Midoriya _hurled_ Yaoyorozu directly through the escape gate, his residual momentum causing him to stumble directly into Shouta's grasp.

"Well, it seems you _did_ understand why I paired the two of you up," he said, feeling more than a little pleased as he escorted the pair of them back to the waiting area. "Both of your Quirks grant you almost unlimited versatility, and both of them have similar mechanics, as well."

He knew he didn't have to say much; the pair of them were tactically-minded enough not to need more than the basics to grasp a concept.


	16. Lost children

Narrowing his eyes as he continued down the path that Sir Nighteye had advised him to take, informing him that he would not only encounter Niseko Sezu, but another child who had been taken by Kai Chisaki and his Shie Hassaikai, Stendhal flexed the spring steel gauntlets he was wearing, extending and retracting the claws that aided him in using Bloodcurdle in combat. Sweeping his gaze up and down the streets he continued to walk through, Stendhal caught the sound of small feet, running as fast as they could. Snapping his head in that direction, Stendhal headed immediately for the alleyway where he had just spotted the tiny forms of Niseko Sezu, as well as a small, white-haired girl with a large horn on the right side of her head.

The pair of them were obviously scared, and given who they were running from, Stendhal could fully sympathize.

He was just about to call out to them, when he spotted Kai Chisaki himself, determinedly stalking the pair of them. Leaping forward, Stendhal extended one of his collapsible staves, aiming to knock Chisaki back so that he could save Sezu and the girl from him. Chisaki was quicker than he was expecting, however, and Stendhal was forced to let go of that staff as Chisaki used his own Quirk to deconstruct it.

"Chizome Akaguro," Chisaki said; Stendhal narrowed his eyes. "I truly should thank you, for bringing my attention to the suffering of such a pure child," he continued, reaching out with his white-gloved left hand to catch hold of Niseko Sezu's shirt collar, dragging him firmly backwards. "I could hardly leave him in his present situation, after everything you revealed to me."

Niseko stumbled, terrified silver eyes fixing him in their gaze; Stendhal ground his teeth. He'd previously been informed about just what Chisaki's Quirk – an emitter-type by the name of Overhaul – was capable of, during the briefing that he had attended with Sir Nighteye and his Sidekick, Lemillion. The short range and esoteric requirements of his own Bloodcurdle was nearly the worst kind of matchup against the kind of Quirks that only required the touch of a hand, or as in Chisaki's case a single finger.

Still, he _had_ been the one to reveal Sezu's presence to Chisaki, a fact that the man had all but thrown in his face, and thus it was _his_ responsibility to save the boy; as well as this girl who had clearly been under the control of Chisaki for long enough that she seemed to have given up on escaping entirely, now that the man himself was standing before them. Narrowing his eyes as Chisaki pinned Sezu against his left side with a firm, white-gloved grip, then barked a command to the young girl – whose name was apparently Eri – that had her making her way over to his right-hand side with a look of hopelessness firmly on her face.

"As a gesture of gratitude, Akaguro, I'll allow you to leave this place alive."

"I'm sure you would, Chisaki," he snarled, grabbing another of his staves with his right hand, as he extended the claws on his left gauntlet.

He'd need to move quickly; one of his specialties, yes, but Chisaki would hardly have rose in the ranks of even the degraded Yakuza without more than his Quirk – terrifying as such a thing would be, in the hands of a man like him – to fall back on.

Launching the extended staff at Chisaki's head as a distraction, Stendhal dashed forward, spring steel claws extended and aimed for Chisaki's exposed front. Chisaki, however, was indeed fast enough to deconstruct that staff in mid-flight. However, the sound of a bullet ricocheting off of his armor drew Stendhal's attention to the other man standing at the far end of the alleyway. Or rather, the _two_ men standing there. One of them was dressed in a white, hooded cloak, while the other was in a long, black coat and black pants. Both of them were wearing the same kind of beaklike mask.

Chisaki himself was wearing a more ornate-looking version; it must have been some kind of affectation of the Shie Hassaikai as a whole.

"Master Overhaul," one of them said, though the fact that both of them were wearing those beaked masks made telling them apart more difficult than it strictly needed to be. "We came as soon as we received your summons."

"Good to hear," Chisaki said, turning back to him with a narrow-eyed look of what was clearly distain. "You had your chance to end this peacefully, Akaguro."

Not bothering to waste any more time with words, Stendhal signaled for backup, then dove forward, raising another of his three, remaining staves. A long strand of what seemed to be gray hair punched through the white hood of the masked man standing behind Chisaki and to his left. Dodging out of the way, Stendhal buried the hook of his grapple-gun into a nearby building, springing off of the ground and looking down at Eri and Niseko; the silver-eyed boy was watching him with an expression of terrified hope.

Activating his transponder, signaling Sir Nighteye and his Agency, Stendhal narrowed his eyes and dove back into the fray once more.

_~MHA~_

Folding his arms, as he and Todoroki made their way up to the mockup city where they were going to be facing off with All Might, Katsuki turned to look at Todoroki again.

"So _that's_ what your Quirk can do," he said, kicking the road as the both of them paused just before the tall, double-doors that would lead into their part of the testing ground. "Well, we've got a couple of fuck-off huge hammers, and we need to take on a human wrecking-ball," he barked a laugh, feeling a bit apprehensive, and more than a little eager to get this whole exam started; if nothing else, the match-up was bound to be interesting. "Still, there's a lot you can do with a hammer."

When he looked over at Todoroki, Katsuki found that Ice-n-Fire was staring back at him with nearly the same kind of expression he'd find on _Izuku's_ face when the nerd was thinking deeply about something he wasn't sure what to make of.

"Come on, let's get going," he says; figures it would be up to him to get things moving.

He _was_ always the one who got Izuku moving when the nerd would get lost in _his _own head, after all.

_~MHA~_

Running as fast as he could, following the signal that Chizome had sent out, Mirio couldn't help wondering just what kind of trouble Chizome had ended up in, since he'd not only called for backup, but he'd also activated the wide-band transponder built into his costume; the one that would send out a signal to call _any_ nearby Heroes in the vicinity. Mirio wondered if that second signal had been something Chizome had sent out on his own, or if something in his suit had done the job for him.

He'd read that Chizome's suit was designed to ensure that he could focus more of his attention on the people that he needed to help; something that would call for backup when he needed it, and even wake him up when he was forced to sleep during one of his patrols.

Mirio thought it was a bit strange, but he'd learned that that was just the way Chizome was: he was just as diligent when he was doing his investigative work as a reporter. Chizome hadn't even been dissuaded by Endeavor and his many suits for libel, and Mirio had also heard that the Flame Hero kept an entire _stable_ of lawyers to handle the bad PR that Chizome's articles would generate for him. He was pretty sure that Chizome's articles all being OP EDs was the only thing that kept him from being _successfully_ sued by Endeavor.

Before he could think anymore about what _might_ have been going on, the sight of the Freelance Hero himself brought him up short. Chizome was slumped against the wall of the alleyway he'd clearly been fighting in… _Oh, no!_ Gathering up Chizome's armored form, shifting him so that he could grab some of the bandages that Chizome kept for those times he'd find people who needed medical assistance when he was out on patrol, Mirio wrapped the bleeding stump where his right arm used to be as quickly as he could.

_He must have been forced to fight Overhaul,_ Mirio reflected, gathering Chizome up in his arms and turning to leave the alleyway. Of course, now that he wasn't solely focused on helping Chizome before the Freelance Hero could succumb to his wound, Mirio could see the damage that had been inflicted on their surroundings; it was more than obvious that Chizome _had_ been forced to fight against Overhaul, and he hadn't been up to the task. _Really, if anyone could be said to have a bad match-up against Overhaul, it'd have to be Chizome._

"…failed…"

Looking down as Chizome muttered something, Mirio shook the Freelance Hero slightly, trying to hold his attention for as long as the man could maintain consciousness. "Hey, it's all right. You didn't have a good match-up; Overhaul was the _worst_ person you could have tried fighting."

Biting his tongue before he could say how _lucky_ Chizome had probably been, to only lose an _arm_ when he'd been fighting against a man with a Quirk capable of destroying someone's entire _body_ with a single touch, Mirio ran as fast as he could back to Sir's Agency. They would need to call Sensei; not only for Chizome, but also to support them while they moved against Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai as a whole.

_~MHA~_

The sound of another of the ice walls that he'd created being battered down drew Shoto's attention, just long enough for him to start thinking about what kind of power One For All – the Quirk that Hisashi Midoriya had created, alongside his younger brother – already possessed.

"Don't _you_ start nerding out on me," Bakugo-san said, firmly shaking his shoulder and bringing Shoto's attention to what they were about to be doing. "Taking _him_ on is like trying to fight a natural disaster; we need to get out of here," Bakugo-san said, a tight, tense grin on his face as he looked back over his own shoulder at where the sounds of All Might battering his way through the ice walls that Shoto had laid down to delay him. "Can you make a ramp now, or do you need to warm up a bit?"

"I'm fine," he said, nodding sharply as he turned to sculpt a ramp for the pair of them to use.

"All right, good," Bakugo-san said, nodding sharply as he guided the pair of them over to the base of the ramp, punctuated by the sound of All Might battering down another of his ice walls. "Let's get the hell out of here, before All Might comes to punch our heads in."

"Right," Shoto said, climbing up the base of the ramp, and waiting for Bakugo-san to climb up behind him.

The pair of them braced themselves against each other, as Bakugo-san blasted them up the ramp with the aid of his Quirk, and Shoto wrapped his arms around Bakugo-san's waist, using his ice to push them along as Bakugo-san used his own Quirk to rocket them up into the air and in the direction of the principal's escape gate.

_~MHA~_

The sound of his own harsh breathing echoed in his ears, but Hikaru Nurikabe tried as hard as he could to concentrate on Soramitsu's hand as his friend stroked his hair in an effort to settle the both of them down.

"Tell me about lake Kawaguchi again?" he asked, if only to give the both of them _something_ to concentrate on.

Something _aside_ from the fact that both of their Quirks – the very disease that Master Overhaul had dedicated himself to eradicating – were steadily eating away at both of them. Soramitsu… Soramitsu had it worse than he ever had, or ever would. Sure, he'd been forced to essentially blind himself ever since his Quirk had developed; ever since he was four years old, he hadn't been able to take off whatever makeshift blindfold he'd worn without… Cutting off those thoughts before he could get too deep into them, Hikaru forced himself to relax again.

"I'll take you there, when all of this is over with. Once Master Overhaul cures the both of us, we'll go there together," Soramitsu said, his tone slightly breathless, and with that distinct warble that Hikaru had long since come to learn meant that Soramitsu's own Quirk was getting to him.

Reaching up for the beaked mask that served as the last blindfold he ever hoped to wear, Hikaru licked his suddenly dry lips. "Do you need me to-?"

"I- Yeah, I think I need you. I'm sorry," Soramitsu said, and Hikaru found himself closing his hidden eyes.

Once again, Hikaru reminded himself that this kind of thing was only going to have to go on until Master Overhaul had perfected his cure, and the both of them were able to just live as _normal_ people; he'd be able to finally, properly _see_ again, once Master Overhaul had perfected his cure.

Making his way to the far end of the room that he and Soramitsu both shared, Hikaru tried to steady himself as best he could, even as he dug his right thumb under the edge of his beaked mask. Pulling it firmly away from his eyes, still closed as they had been in contemplation, Hikaru forced himself to open them. The burning sensation in his eyes, accompanied by the awful, squirming sensation of his flesh expanding in all directions, right up until Hikaru felt the confining walls of his and Soramitsu's shared room pressing into his hideous, mutated bulk, filled him as he uncovered his eyes.

The darkness that had closed around him the only thing keeping his unstable body – his unstable, uncontrollable _Quirk_ – from forcing him to fill the _entire_ space of his and Soramitsu's room, rather than just the front half of it.

He supposed that, if he could retain any actual _awareness _of the world around him when he was forced to unleash his horrible Quirk, he would have been able to hear what Soramitsu said to him _before _his old friend began eating his way through the massive, misshapen blob of flesh that Hikaru's uncontrollable Quirk had reduced him to. Stranded in senseless darkness, not only blind but also deaf, immobile, and mute, Hikaru clung to the knowledge that Master Overhaul was working diligently on a cure.

Really, it was the only thing that kept him relatively sane, at times like this.

_~MHA~_

Making his way over to the bed where Stendhal – or rather Chizome Akaguro, considering the fact that the Freelance Hero had been stripped of his armor just as soon as he'd been brought the infirmary within Sir Nighteye's Agency – had been laid out awaiting him, Hisashi narrowed his eyes slightly as he focused on the empty space where Chizome's right arm had once been. Gathering himself, layering the Quirks he would need in order to address the wound he was being presented with, Hisashi raised an eyebrow as he sensed the approach of one of Izuku's friends.

Mirio Togata, the one Mirai had put forward as a second candidate to inherit One For All; it was all rather interesting, since to this point he hadn't been aware of more than one candidate being put forward in such a way. Still, in those early days there had been no such system to encourage those such as Enji Todoroki to pursue their ambitions through the means that One For All would provide for them. In _that_ light, of course, Hisashi could see both how and _why_ such a thing had occurred.

It was all so interesting.

"Sensei, will he be all right?" Mirio asked, making his way over to the bed where Hisashi was working on his current patient, using a combination of flesh-shaping, regeneration, and telekinesis Quirks to restore the arm that Chizome Akaguro had likely been forced to sever during the course of his abortive battle with Chisaki.

"He'll be fine, I just need a little more time with him," he said, glancing over his left shoulder as Mirio settled into a nearby chair to watch him at work; Hisashi chuckled under his breath.

More than a few times, among those who called this hidden identity of his the Symbol of Hope, there were those calling Sensei the Man of Miracles; in either case, Hisashi found that he rather enjoyed the adulation.

"I'm glad to hear that," Mirio said, grinning widely in a way that suggested a more than passing familiarity with the persona that Toshinori had adopted in his guise as All Might.

Hisashi suspected that, if he asked, he'd be certain to find Mirai's influence at the heart of it.

_~MHA~_

Once they'd all been gathered together in the Central Plaza, Izuku and Yaoyorozu-san – or Momo-san, since she'd told him he could call her that when the both of them had gotten back after their own practical exam – both got all of their fellow students back onto the bus, which seemed to be the same one that they'd used to travel to the U.S.J. Settling down next to Kacchan as the bus lurched into motion, Izuku opened his latest notebook, trying to distract himself from the worry about just what was happening that would call both Uncle Toshi _and_ Uncle Mirai back to Uncle Toshi's agency.

There had to be something _huge_, and who knew how many more-

"It's gonna be all right, Zuzu," Kacchan said, reaching out to wrap his right arm around Izuku's shoulders. "Whatever's happening, I'm sure it'll be fine. They've got All Might _and_ his old Sidekick working on the case. Whatever it ends up being, with those two tackling things it'll all be solved before you know it. Just wait and see."

"Thanks, Kacchan," he muttered, allowing himself to lean into the comfort Kacchan was offering him while they made their way back to the main campus.

It was probably true, considering the raw power that Uncle Toshi could bring to a fight, and the sheer utility of Uncle Mirai's Quirk, but Izuku still couldn't help but wonder what was actually _happening_ to need the both of them working on whatever case had come up. Sighing as U.A.'s main building came back into view, Izuku closed his notebook and tucked it back away in his locker with a quick use of Warp Gate. Standing up as the bus they were all in came to a neat stop, he quickly joined Momo-san at the front of the bus to lead the rest of their classmates back out.

All the while, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen when this holding pattern they all seemed to be in finally _broke_…

_~MHA~_

Making his way into the room where the child – the pure one that Master Overhaul was fond of, not the cursed thing that the lower-level thugs were sent to look after – awaited him, Shin Nemoto looked around the room where Niseko Sezu had been placed. It was hardly the kind of space where such a young boy could be content, so perhaps _that_ was the reason that little Sezu was so unhappy at present. Still, he'd been assigned to find out just _why_ it was that Sezu seemed so unhappy with his current situation, and he was not about to assume something he had not yet determined for himself.

However, Shin reminded himself once again that it was not that the boy was precisely _ungrateful_ for his present accommodations, Master Overhaul simply wished to know why little Sezu seemed so unsettled around him.

Looking down into those wide, frightened silver eyes, Shin called up his Quirk so that the boy's clear unease wouldn't prevent him from speaking, the way it had so many times when Master Overhaul would attempt to connect with the child. "Now, little Sezu, tell me: why do you seem to fear Master Overhaul so much?"

"It's his eyes," little Sezu said, pulling his blankets up around his shoulders and seeming as though he wished to fold in on himself; the same way he always seemed to do when Master Overhaul would try to connect with him. "They remind me of Dad's, when… When he and Mom left me in Hosu," the boy seemed almost set to stop there, so Shin gave little Sezu another nudge with his Quirk. "Dad seemed angry, when I didn't develop a Quirk when I was supposed to; Mom seemed really sad, though."

Making his way over to where little Sezu was sitting, wrapped in the blankets that were so clearly a comfort to him in a place he hadn't yet begun to think of as his new home, Shin reached down to ruffle the child's short, brown hair. "There's no need for you to fear Master Overhaul," sliding his hands down to gently cup the child's cheeks, Shin raised little Sezu's gaze until he could look squarely into the boy's silver eyes; he smiled slightly as he saw the uncertainty there. It was a first step, though certainly not the _only_ one he was hoping to take, this day. "He would never leave you in any place such as that. He cares for you very deeply."

Pausing for a moment, Shin considered the child's interactions with Irinaka, those few times when the pair of them would cross paths. While it _was_ true that such a question was more due to his own curiosity than anything that Master Overhaul or any of his comrades were demanding of him, but Shin still wished to know little Sezu's _true_ feelings. "Why do you seem so fond of Irinaka, child?"

"He looks kind of like a penguin," little Sezu said, seeming at least a bit more settled than he had been when Shin had first made his way into the room that Master Overhaul had been generous enough to provide for him.

"You're fond of them?" Shin asked, reaching up to gently stroke the boy's short, brown hair as the pair of them continued their conversation.

"They're my favorite kind of animals," little Sezu said. "Just like Sensei-"

Covering little Sezu's mouth with his pointer and middle finger, before the boy could start in on how much he'd been taken in by the masses and their mindless adulation for the corrupted system of Pro Heroes that had been formed to keep the Shie Hassaikai and their fellows down, Shin smiled softly under his mask. Yes, little Sezu was still mired in all of the attitudes that Master Overhaul hoped to change, but it seemed that he _would_ come around.

Master Overhaul just needed to know how to handle him properly.


	17. Lurking Shadows

Once they'd all come back to school, after both parts of the final exam were over and they'd had a chance to get some actual _rest_, Izuku found himself back in class listening to Kaminari-san, Kirishima-san, Sato-san, and Ashido-san all freaking out about what was going to happen to them since they'd failed the practical exam.

"Come on, guys, I'm sure that Aizawa-sensei isn't going to leave you behind," he said, trying to reassure the four of them as best as he could. "It's a training camp; I don't think Aizawa-sensei would keep anyone out of training, even if you _did_ fail the practical exam. I don't think keeping you out of training would help with anything you need to work on-agagag!"

"Don't you understand, Midoriya?!" Kaminari-san shouted, having firmly grabbed his shoulders so he could shake him as hard as he could. "Not everyone can be a tactical genius with a stupid-million Quirks!"

"All right, Sparky, let him up," Kacchan said, and Izuku could just manage to catch sight of the way he swatted Kaminari-san upside the head.

Before anyone else could start to say anything, and almost before Izuku could manage to recover from the way that Kaminari-san had been shaking him, the front door of the classroom was slammed open and Tenko-nii dragged Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag into the room.

"Butts in seats, scrubs," Tenko-nii said, sweeping them all with his cool, red-eyed gaze.

Everyone sat down; Tenko-nii chuckled softly, laying Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag down beside his desk, then making his way over to sit down in his chair. As Aizawa-sensei started going over just what it was that they could all expect, now that final exams were over – and also revealing that both the oblique threat of someone being left behind, as well as the stated one of the teachers going all-out during the course of the practical exam had been just one more of Aizawa-sensei's logical ruses – Izuku found himself struggling not to laugh at the sheer _indignation_ in Iida-san's voice as he yelled at Aizawa-sensei. It _was_ kind of funny, the way Iida-san was concerned that the class would stop believing in Aizawa-sensei if he kept using those little teaching tricks he used so much.

Really, Izuku had gotten used to that kind of thing back when Dad had asked Aizawa-sensei to help him get a handle on his own Quirk, back when he was little.

After Aizawa-sensei had finished going over everything they'd need to know for the training camp they were going to be working at for the next week, Izuku turned as Hagakure-san suggested they all go to the same mall that he, Tenko-nii, and Bambaa-chan had been, that day when she'd been attacked by that Villain. The Villain that Uncle Toshi _really_ didn't seem to want to talk about…

"Deku, are you going to come to the mall with us?"

"Huh?" he asked, looking up at Ochako-san as she stood over his desk. "Oh, sure," he said, nodding.

He didn't think there would be _two_ big Villain attacks in the same place, at least he hoped not. The entire class went out to the Kiyashi Ward mall together, and for the first five minutes Izuku couldn't help but find himself tensing up as they all made their way through the main concourse of the mall. Turning as he felt an arm winding around his shoulders, Izuku smiled as he saw Tenko-nii walking beside him again.

"Let's go, Zu-chan."

"Yeah," he said, nodding as the pair of them continued on their way deeper into the mall.

There were things he still needed to pick up, before he headed off to the training camp; he couldn't rely on Warp Gate for everything, especially since Aizawa-sensei would try to break him of that habit as soon as he noticed it forming in the first place.

_~MHA~_

When all of their people had all gathered together in Sir Nighteye's large, main conference room, Toshinori found his eyes drawn almost inexorably toward Hisashi. His old friend – the closest he really had to an uncle, considering what had happened with his original family – was once again in the guise of Sensei, and Toshinori once again found himself wondering just how many people _actually_ knew about his work as an Underground Hero. Not everyone would be willing to ignore it if he was forced to run out on a Council meeting, after all.

"Given what Stendhal was able to determine, during his attack on Chisaki, it would seem as though Niseko Sezu is not the only missing child that was taken by these Villains," Sir Nighteye himself said, bringing the attention of everyone in the room firmly back to him. "Taking the strength of Chisaki's Quirk into account, I think it would truly be best if Sensei accompanied our strike force when we moved against this group."

"Yes, I would have to agree," Hisashi said, leaning back in his seat as he folded his strong arms across his broad chest.

Toshinori didn't quite know why he still found himself surprised, every time he was reminded of just how well-built Hisashi was under those suits he always seemed to be wearing. Maybe it was because those suits, tailored as they were to fit a man Hisashi's size, always served to conceal his toned musculature. Though there wasn't much that anything but a Quirk could do for the man's height.

He sometimes wondered how Hisashi dealt with that kind of thing, since it wasn't like architecture as a whole was designed for people as tall as they were; not in Japan, at least.

_~MHA~_

Muttering under his breath as he checked over his shopping list for the fifth time, Izuku turned as he heard Tenko-nii chuckling.

"Why don't you read that list of yours over a _sixth_ time, Zu-chan?" Tenko-nii asked, laughing a bit more openly as the pair of them continued on their way through the mall together.

Sticking his tongue out at Tenko-nii as the pair of them continued on their way through the main concourse of the mall, Izuku caught sight of Ochako-san making her way over to where he and Tenko-nii were walking, as they continued on their way.

"Hi, Ochako-san," he called, as the pair of them fell into step with each other for a moment; or at least for as long as all of them were walking in the same direction, that was.

"Well, isn't _this_ a coincidence," Tenko-nii said, and Izuku could practically _hear_ the self-satisfied smirk on his older brother's face. "Come for another visit, Ochako-chan?"

Before he could turn and tell Tenko-nii not to do anything silly, he felt Tenko-nii's hand on his left shoulder, even as his older brother took out his footing, shoving him into Ochako-san. Catching himself on Ochako-san's hands as she raised them in a clear attempt to catch him before he fell on her, Izuku rolled his eyes as he stood back up.

"I will _dunk_ you in the _fountain_!" he growled, turning back to Tenko-nii.

"Zu-chan, you know there's no fountain around here," Tenko-nii said, grinning at him in that annoying way he did when he was teasing him about the crush he kept insisting that Izuku had on Ochako-san.

"I will _find_ a fountain to dunk you in," he amended, glaring up at Tenko-nii as his older brother continued grinning down at him.

Narrowing his eyes as Tenko-nii continued grinning down at him, Izuku reached through a Warp Gate into his room, grabbing the first thing he could get his hands on, so he could hit his annoying older brother with it.

"Zu-chan, are you hitting me with a stuffed _seahorse_?" Tenko-nii asked, laughing as he held up his hands in a clear effort to defend himself from Izuku's plush assault.

Stopping for a moment to look at what it was that he was actually _holding_, Izuku saw that it _was_ the stuffed seahorse that Tenko-nii had bought for him as a joke; the one with the three baby seahorses stuck to its middle with Velcro.

"Apparently, yes," he deadpanned.

Batting Tenko-nii a few more times for good measure, Izuku put his seahorse back in his room through his Warp Gate, shoved his hands in his pockets, and elbowed Tenko-nii when he started laughing again. His older brother could be such a pain, when he'd gotten it into his head that there was something he needed to stick his nose into.

_~MHA~_

Looking up from his desk at the sound of his office door opening, Kai Chisaki smiled under his mask as he saw Shin and little Niseko making their way into his office. Given the look on Niseko-chan's face, it seemed as though Shin _had_ managed to make him understand that none of those present wished to harm him in any way. Watching as Shin led Niseko-chan deeper into his office, Chisaki set his paperwork aside for a moment, pushing out his chair so that he would be able to interact more directly with Niseko-chan as Shin brought him over.

Watching curiously as Shin led Niseko-chan past Joi Irinaka, Chisaki found that Niseko-chan did indeed wave to him, the same way he'd done the last time that the pair of them had crossed paths. He wondered if Shin had managed to find out why that was, in the same way he'd requested that he find out just why it was that Niseko-chan had seemed to be so uneasy around him.

"Nemoto," he greeted, as Shin and Niseko-chan stopped before his chair. "How are you feeling, Niseko-chan?"

"I'm all right," the pure child that Chisaki had taken into his care as soon as he'd found out he existed said, sounding more shy than Chisaki would have honestly preferred.

"Why don't we try starting again?" he asked, reaching out for Niseko-chan's hand, smiling under his mask as the silver-eyed boy reached back, allowing Chisaki to take his small hand in his own larger, gloved hand. "My name is Kai Chisaki."

"I'm Niseko Sezu."

Pulling Niseko-chan gently into his lap, Chisaki took off his left glove so that he would be able to actually _touch_ Niseko-chan. It was perfectly fitting, considering his purity, that his hair and skin were so soft.

"Nemoto, what else can you tell me about him?" he asked, turning his attention back to Shin, even as he pulled his glove back on and gathered Niseko-chan closer to his chest.

There _were_ other things that he would have to do, considering the plans that he still intended to carry out, but for the moment Chisaki could allow himself to get to know the pure child he had taken from among that festering pit of sickness and disease. He could allow himself to concentrate on the mundane operations of the Shie Hassaikai, while in his mind he turned over the problem of just how he would create the cure to the disease that had spread throughout Japan – not to mention the whole of the world – and also how he would address the inevitable approach of those who had held to their disease so long that they had made it a part of their very being. _Anyone afflicted with both a Quirk and chronic heroism will be a problem for us, so long as we allow them to exist,_ he mused.

_~MHA~_

"They're _Yakuza_?" Toshinori found himself asking, as Sir Nighteye displayed the data that he and his people – even Izuku, while he'd been out on his internship, though he didn't think Nighteye had brought Izuku in on the investigation itself – had gathered about he'd first thought was just another Villain group that had kidnapped a child, injured Stendhal, and then retreated back into the shadows once more.

"Yes, that _is_ rather odd. So far as I was aware, the back of the organization was broken by the work of the Pro Heroes Seven Strong and All Might, alongside their unknown companion with the elemental Quirk," Hisashi said, tilting his head slightly with that same laconic air of curiosity he adopted when he knew at least _some_ of the answer to a question, but didn't want to let on how much information he actually had.

"Up until the latter half of this month, that _was_ the general consensus, Sensei," Sir Nighteye said, adjusting his glasses and turning to fix Hisashi's hidden eyes with his own gaze. "However, even as many Villain groups have been driven underground by the presence of All Might and his fellow Pro Heroes – including yourself, though your own role is more geared toward Support – it would seem that this particular Yakuza cell has done the same."

"The Shie Hassaikai," Stendhal growled, drawing Toshinori's attention.

"No one here blames you for not fighting off Overhaul when you came across him in that alley, Stendhal," Mirio said, speaking up before Toshinori could say a single word, though that was just what _he_ would have been saying, in this case.

"Indeed, an Emitter-type such as Chisaki's Quirk, with its simple conditions for activation, was truly the worst matchup in light of the conditions that your Quirk imposes on you to activate it," Sir Nighteye said, turning his attention to Stendhal for a long moment, before returning his attention to the main screen again. "Now, we have little enough information as to what Chisaki intends for Sezu-san and the girl, however considering his affiliation, I doubt that he has either of their best interests at heart."

There was a general consensus as far as that was concerned, one that Toshinori found himself joining in with as soon as he heard it, but nothing really seemed to reach Stendhal; the Freelance Hero was sitting as rigidly as he'd ever seen someone, fists clenched as he growled something that sounded like a vow not to fail again. Toshinori made his own vow, this one to himself: he'd look out for Stendhal for the duration of this operation, since anyone going into battle with _that_ kind of weight on their mind wouldn't be able to focus on much other than their own failure. Even if it _was_ just a failure in their own mind.

No one with _that_ kind of weight on their mind would be able to concentrate properly.

_~MHA~_

Making his way down the corridor, once he'd finished putting Niseko-chan down to sleep in a room not very far from where he himself slept, Chisaki narrowed his eyes as he found himself standing in the room that contained row upon row of stasis tanks. Every single one of them containing the form of one of those poor unfortunate people from the Rosaru Ward; each and every one of them so twisted by their particular strain of disease that they no longer even _resembled_ humanity anymore. Rosaru itself had been a festering pit of disease, so the only humane option had been to _burn_ out the contagion.

He'd read that such had been the procedure in the past, when quarantine measured had either failed, or were simply insufficient for containing the spread of a particular disease; Rosaru had been a regrettable necessity.

However, it seemed as though his hunt for one of those who had managed to escape from his purge of that diseased Ward had drawn the attention of those who were most afflicted by the chronic heroism that had spread throughout society in the wake of the scourge of Quirks. It seemed as though it would be necessary to make use of more of the poor, diseased creatures he'd taken into his care. Truly, it was the only use that such twisted, diseased wretches could be put to, given how far they had diverged from the human form.

He would need to think carefully, just which of those he could best use to create a smokescreen for the Shie Hassaikai to escape under.

_~MHA~_

The sound of his phone going off distracted Tenko from watching Zu-chan with his clearly-future girlfriend, but when he looked down at the message that he'd been sent, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What is it, Tenko-nii?" Zu-chan asked, as he and his future girlfriend turned to look at him while he paused to check his phone.

He sighed in semi-good-natured annoyance. "Duty calls."

Hurrying to meet up with Tsukauchi, Tenko found himself smiling once more as he heard the sound of excited footfalls following in his wake.

"You mean, you're going to go out and save people now?!" Ochako-chan squealed, and Tenko chuckled as he found himself reminded once again that she was a huge, completely unashamed fangirl; it'd been more than a little easy to forget, considering how much fun he'd been having teasing Zu-chan's future girlfriend.

"That's the idea," he said, grinning back at her as the three of them continued on their way to meet up with Tsukauchi.

Once the three of them made it out to the parking lot where Tsukauchi was waiting for them, Tenko whipped off his hood so that he could give Zu-chan a big, loud kiss on his chubby right cheek. Zu-chan clearly wasn't about to let him go with just that, of course, and Tenko found himself laughing as his baby brother hugged him tightly enough that he could swing the pair of them around without _too_ much risk of knocking the both of them over. Looking around as he felt another pair of arms wrapping around him, their grip _quite_ a bit more tentative-feeling than his baby brother's had been, Tenko chuckled as he ruffled the little fangirl's hair, in turn.

The sound of someone calling drew his attention then, and he turned to wave to Tsukauchi. "I hear you; I'll be right over," he assured the man – his idiot Uncle Toshi's closest friend outside the family – as he started forward, Zu-chan's right arm still wrapped loosely around his waist.

"I'll see you again when I can, Zu-chan," he said, playfully ruffling his baby brother's soft, curly hair, before turning to climb into the back seat of the car that Tsukauchi had brought for him. As he crawled into the back seat, however, Tenko smirked as he realized that there was one, last thing he could say. "Oh, but there _is_ a favor you can do for me, Zu-chan."

"What is it?" his adorable baby brother asked, and Tenko could practically _hear_ the adorably earnest look on his baby brother's face as he prepared his phone.

"Make sure to give your girlfriend a goodnight kiss!"

Snapping the _perfect_ picture of his baby brother's flustered face, just before he slammed the car door on Zu-chan's spluttering attempts at a response, Tenko laughed as he settled himself down in the back seat.

"Tenko-kun, are you playing matchmaker again?"

"_Maybe_," he drawled, smirking as he looked into the rear-view mirror, catching Tsukauchi's gaze for a long moment. "So, have you got my gear?"

"Your gear's been sent to Nighteye's agency," Tsukauchi said, and Tenko found himself more than a little surprised to hear that.

It was kind of surprising, to think that he'd be meeting up with his idiot Uncle Toshi's old Sidekick for… whatever this new operation of theirs was going to turn out to be, but as Tsukauchi pulled up to the Nighteye Hero Agency, Tenko put those thoughts out of his mind as Tsukauchi drove up to the building where his uncle's old Sidekick worked. The sight of Uncle Toshi – or All Might, since both he and Sensei _had_ had a few good laughs over Zu-chan's habit of calling their uncle by his real name no matter what form he was in – as the Symbol of Peace brought a slight smile to his face, one that only widened as his uncle turned to him with a smile on his broad face.

Not his usual 'heroic' smile, but the kinder, gentler one that he reserved for family and close friends.

"It's good to have you here, Tenko-kun."

"Thanks, Uncle Might."

_~MHA~_

Watching as Tenko dressed in the Hero outfit that Nana-sensei had helped him to make, Toshinori found himself smiling in fond remembrance. As both a complement and a contrast to the costume that Izuku had designed and he and his mother had collaborated on together, the one that had been modeled off of two of his own costumes as well as the one that Hisashi had designed for himself, Tenko's had been based more directly off of Nana-sensei's. There _were_ a few concessions made to the fact that Tenko – Dust, when he was working – specialized in urban and disaster rescue, of course: namely the hard-hat, respirator, and long, white scarf that Tenko was wearing.

And also, the lack of the smaller, red cape that Nana-sensei had worn as a part of _her_ old costume.

With his left hand on Tenko's right shoulder, he guided the young man to a seat between himself and Hisashi, who naturally reached out to wrap his right arm around Tenko's shoulders as he and Toshinori both got themselves settled down on either side of him.

"I'm glad you could all make it," Sir Nighteye said, as soon as the last of them had taken their seats; Toshinori wasn't quite sure what to make of the way his gaze seemed to linger on Stendhal, however. "For the moment, the little we know amounts to the fact that the Shie Hassaikai has kidnapped not only Niseko Sezu, but also the other girl whose description was provided to us by Stendhal."

Looking over at the Freelance Hero, Toshinori found that he did at least seem to be paying attention to the briefing, which was a marked improvement over the way he'd clearly been stewing in his own fury when they'd first begun gathering together. He was still going to make a point of looking out for the man, of course, since even though he _had_ calmed down a fair bit, it was clear from his body-language that Stendhal was still furious about his perceived loss against Chisaki. And, while Toshinori was fully aware that he hadn't taken _his_ losses much better when he was first starting out, he'd had Hisashi and Nana-sensei to help him get his head on straight.

Nana-sensei was a bit too old for this kind of thing, and he didn't really know how Stendhal would react to Hisashi, but he _did_ know that the Freelance Hero respected him almost to the point where it was actually awkward to be in the same room as him; it would have to be the Symbol of Peace who made the Freelance Hero listen to reason.

_~MHA~_

Standing outside the door that would take him into Niseko-chan's room, Kai Chisaki looked down at the stuffed penguin he'd had purchased for the boy; he also found himself reflecting on the _other_ item that he'd arranged to have delivered to him. The original mask that he'd worn when he'd first become a member of the Shie Hassaikai – when the Boss had first taken him in; something he still owed the man for, and a favor he would soon repay – would of course have been too large for a child as young as Niseko-chan. The one he'd had commissioned for the boy to wear was, therefore, merely a near-exact replica.

Once the boy was old enough, then Chisaki would see about passing on his old mask; if such a thing was still necessary, of course.

Unlocking Niseko-chan's door to let himself in, Chisaki looked around for a moment, before making his way over to the large, luxurious bed he'd arranged for the child to have. Niseko-chan was just beginning to awaken, and Chisaki found himself smiling under his mask as he made his way over to where the pure, kind child was, just as he was beginning to sit up.

"Good morning, Niseko-chan," he said, reaching out to stroke the boy's head, watching as his silver eyes blinked up at him.

"Chisaki-san," the boy said, but seemed not to know what else he should say.

"I already told you, you can just call me Chisaki," he said, settling down on the bed next to Niseko-chan. "I brought something for you," he continued, unrolling the cloth mask that he'd tucked into his pocket. "Here," he said, carefully securing it over Niseko-chan's face. "The air in this place isn't suited for someone as pure as you. Come," he said, reaching down to tug Niseko-chan out of bed, even as he set down the penguin plush he'd been carrying next to the place where he'd been sleeping. "Let's get you cleaned up for the day, and then I'll give you your other gift."

Niseko-chan, watching him with uncertain silver eyes, nonetheless followed Chisaki as he led him to the washroom so that he would be able to help the child prepare for his day. Once the pair of them were done, and Chisaki had replaced the mask on Niseko-chan's face after removing it so that the boy could brush his teeth, he knelt down and gently placed a pair of white gloves on the child's hands.

"There, now you have at least _some_ protection from the filth of this society," he said, placing a comforting hand on Niseko-chan's head, as he looked down in confusion at the new gloves he was wearing.

He'd come to understand soon enough; with proper guidance, of course.


	18. Before the plunge

When summer vacation was just beginning, Izuku found himself, Ochako-san, Kacchan, Iida-san, Asui-san, and Todoroki-san all called back to U.A. so that they could attend the special class that all of 1-A had been signed up for at the beginning of the year, though there was an option to opt out. Not that he really thought anyone would _take_ it; not in a class of over-achievers like 1-A, anyway. If there'd been a chance of talking to anyone from 1-B – even Monoma, if his sort-of friend was actually interested in _talking_ to him rather than trying to feel him up for Quirks – he'd have asked if _they_ had had anything like this to deal with.

It was a possibility, since both of their classes _were_ aiming to become heroes; Izuku just wished he knew someone from 1-B he could actually have a normal conversation with.

As the six of them all sat down at their desks, Izuku found himself wondering if Tenko-nii would show up in his capacity as Aizawa-sensei's teaching assistant, or if he was still working on whatever case he'd been assigned to by Tsukauchi-san.

"We'll be running this course multiple times, with small groups from your class," Aizawa-sensei said, and Izuku found himself more than a little surprised _not_ to see 1-A's Homeroom teacher being dragged in by Tenko-nii; still, if his older brother _was_ off investigating something, then Aizawa-sensei would have to do a few more things by himself. In that light, Izuku figured this kind of thing made more sense. "Today, it will be the six of you. Just so you know, this will be harder than a regular class," Aizawa-sensei continued, raking the six of them with his calm, assessing gaze; Izuku met his eyes firmly when their respective gazes locked. "Prepare yourselves. In this master-class, you'll be tasked with saving innocent bystanders, and capturing a Villain."

Izuku tried to keep himself in his seat during the following, excited outburst – since he knew that Aizawa-sensei wouldn't really appreciate that kind of thing – but he didn't bother trying to stop himself from grinning.

"This _should _be obvious," Aizawa-sensei continued, once he'd pretty much glared the rest of the class back into submission. "But Villains commit many different types of crimes. You six will be dispatched to a scene, and will need to determine what happened there; whether or not a Villain was at fault, whether or not you should fight. We will be judging your ability to assess the situation, as well as how well you defuse it. Welcome your instructors."

When Uncle Toshi, Midnight-sensei, and Cementoss-sensei all came in through the back door of the classroom that the six of them had been gathered in for this advanced class of theirs, Izuku grinned widely as he waved to them all. Well, mostly Uncle Toshi, really.

"I am here! Sneaking in through the back door!" Uncle Toshi shouted loudly; which pretty much spoiled whatever stealth he'd _actually_ been trying to use, but that was Uncle Toshi for you.

Well, Uncle Toshi when he was being All Might, anyway.

"You're looking _extra_ muscly today!" Ochako-san exclaimed, flexing her own arms in the same way that Uncle Toshi always did when he was being All Might. "Yowza!"

"Zuzu, your girlfriend's being weird."

"Kacchan, she's _not_ my girlfriend!" he exclaimed, blushing all the deeper when he heard Midnight-sensei laughing.

"Well, _well_, is this the sweet melody of young love I hear?" Midnight-sensei – who was kind of a little crazy about anything and everything involving romance, even if it _wasn't_ even real – asked, grinning widely and wiggling in the way she always seemed to do when she was excited about something or other.

"It's nothing like that!" he exclaimed, and could kind of hear Ochako-san doing the same.

Midnight-sensei actually _cackled_ after the both of them had said that, but Aizawa-sensei quickly cut in.

"That's enough of that, Kayama," Aizawa-sensei said, an annoyed look on his face as he turned his glare from Midnight-sensei back onto all of them. "Now, Cementoss, Midnight, and Present Mic will be assisting All Might. They'll be acting as special trainers. Let's get going; head out to Ground Beta."

"Aizawa-sensei, would it be best if we got there as soon as possible, or do you need time to set up?" he asked, half-activating Warp Gate as he rose from his seat. "I mean, I can get us there right away, if you need me to."

"By the time you make it to the training ground normally, we'll be all set up," Aizawa-sensei said, indirectly answering his question. "Thanks for the offer, though, Class Rep."

"Sure," he said, deactivating his copy of Warp Gate as the rest of his classmates began filing out of the room alongside him.

He still couldn't help wondering, as they all made their way onto the bus, if the students of class 1-B _were_ really going to have a class like this one.

_~MHA~_

When all six of them made it to the training ground where they were going to use for the extra class they were taking, Ochako looked around at her five fellow classmates. Each of them was wearing their Hero costume for this exercise, but the sound of Aizawa-sensei making his way over to them drew her attention before she could wonder _too_ much about what they were all going to be doing for this class. Still, the sight of so many cardboard cutouts in the shape of police officers – not to mention the soft sound of Deku muttering to himself – gave her at least an idea about what might be going on.

Aizawa-sensei started speaking not long after the six of them had all gathered together.

"I'll brief you on the situation: there's been an attack in this jewelry store; the employees and customers have been taken hostage, and are barricaded inside. The number of Villains and bystanders is unknown. As Pro Heroes, you've been asked by the Police to intervene, and resolve this situation to the best of your abilities."

"Excuse me, Aizawa-sensei!" Iida-san exclaimed, right hand snapping into the air with the same kind of enthusiasm that he seemed to have for everything he did. "Our teachers: will they be playing the role of hostages or Villains?"

"I won't be answering questions," Aizawa-sensei said quickly, almost cutting off the end of Iida-san's sentence. "Verify the situation yourself, and act accordingly," Aizawa-sensei paused for a moment to let them acknowledge him, before continuing. "With that, let the capture-training begin."

Turning at the sound of a loud siren, Ochako took a deep breath as she made her way over to the side of the building they were all standing behind; there was a pretty big crowd of Police cutouts, all arranged in front of the jewelry store that was meant to be under attack by the Villain they were here to bring in.

"Uraraka, you head up to the windows and take a look," Bakugo said, and she turned back to see that he was giving her a considering look; really, it was the same kind of look that he was always giving Deku, when the both of _them_ would work together. "You'd have the best chance of determining how many Villains are in there, without the risk of being seen the way most of us would end up having to deal with."

"Right," she said, nodding even as she wondered what the sidelong look Bakugo had aimed at Deku might have meant.

Nodding in response to Deku, when he told her that she should let the rest of them know how many hostages there were on her right hand, and how many Villains there were on her left, Ochako turned her attention back to the gathering of Police cutouts. Touching the pads on her fingers together, even as she took a deep, steadying breath so that she wouldn't have so much trouble with nausea as she would have otherwise, considering what she was going to be doing, Ochako levitated herself upward with the help of a push from Deku; behind her, she could hear the sounds of her fellow classmates discussing how they could distract the Villain.

Looking in through the large, second-floor windows, Ochako quickly caught sight of All Might; though he was wearing a dark, spiky outfit, and was clearly playing the Villain for this class. Just as she was about to turn away, so she could report how many Villains there were, the sight of another, sinuous shape – almost out of sight behind the row of jewelry displays at the back of the store – darting from behind an empty display case over to one that was still full.

Narrowing her eyes, as the reflective visor of the smaller Villain's matte-black costume was raised up to where she could see it better, as the smaller Villain looked toward All Might. She didn't know just what passed between the pair of them, but the smaller Villain nodded, and Ochako turned away to make her report. Deku and Iida-san both nodded as she held up her hands – three fingers on her right hand for Midnight, Present Mic, and Cementoss; two on her left for All Might and the smaller Villain that seemed to be helping him – and she could see Todoroki-san talking on the phone.

From the look on his face, Ochako guessed he was talking to All Might; she kind of wondered how All Might was doing, having to play a Villain and all.

The sight of the smaller Villain turning to run out the back of the store drew Ochako's attention before she could spend _too_ much time wondering what All Might was saying to Todoroki-san, and she narrowed her eyes as something about the way the smaller Villain was moving began to seem more than a little familiar to her… _Wait, I saw that running-stance before, back in the Sports Festival!_ It had to be Deku's sister.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he watched Rocketeer signaling that something serious was starting to happen with the pair of faux Villains they were all facing, Katsuki folded his arms and turned his attention to Fire-n-Ice as he locked his phone after finishing his call to All Might.

"Looks like there's more to this whole thing than we first thought," he said, narrowing his eyes as he turned to look back over at the rows and rows of freestanding cutouts, all standing in front of the jewelry store that All Might, and whoever was apparently working with him, were playing at trying to rob. "Zuzu, you take Legs around back; see if the both of you can head off that other Villain. We'll go in from the front."

"Wait," Todoroki-san said, grabbing Bakugo's right arm as he started to make his way out from the alleyway the six of them were all hiding in. "There are still hostages inside the store."

He grinned. "You'd be surprised how good a distraction I can be."

_~MHA~_

After the six of them had decided on their next course of action, with himself and Midoriya-kun positioning themselves outside the back of the building so that they would be better able to intercept the smaller Villain whose presence Uraraka-kun had reported to them, Tenya found his attention drawn by the sound of heavy footfalls pounding on the tarmac. He and Midoriya-kun quickly ducked out of sight, allowing the Villain – who turned out to be All Might-sensei – to run away from the shop that he and his partner had been robbing.

"I'll keep an eye on him from the air," Midoriya-kun said, narrowing his eyes as he extended a large pair of webbed, green wings – wings that were the same shade of green as his hair, Tenya noticed – from his back, fluttering them briefly, seemingly to stretch them out. "I'll signal you when he stops, so you can come meet me wherever he stops."

"Yes," he said, nodding sharply. "And then, we can signal the others."

"Right," Midoriya-kun said, fully opening his wings as he took off into the air.

Looking up for a moment, as Midoriya-kun took off, Tenya followed in his wake as Midoriya-kun kept pace with All Might-sensei. The three of them ended up stopping outside a large building, which Tenya realized was a hospital after a moment spent studying the environs he and Midoriya-kun had ended up in. Narrowing his eyes as he watched All Might-sensei furtively making his way into the building, Tenya signaled his intentions to Midoriya-san, following All Might-sensei into the building once Midoriya-san was aware of what he was doing.

It was only slightly more difficult than he'd been expecting, keeping up with All Might-sensei even as he stayed out of the faux Villain's line of sight, but Tenya soon found himself just outside a room that All Might-sensei had ducked into. Carefully concealing himself, Tenya managed to sneak himself into the room where All Might-sensei had seemed to be the most interested in. _Wait, this is a long-term care ward,_ he mused, then gasped as he turned to the front of the room.

There was a man there, laid out on the bed he was now standing in front of; however, the sound of someone starting to open the door prompted Tenya to throw himself under the bed itself before he could spend _too_ much time contemplating just what was going on.

"Looks like they _haven't_ caught on yet," All Might-sensei said, and as he watched their teacher – who he sternly reminded himself was playing the part of a dastardly Villain; the quaver in his voice as he spoke was, therefore, more than likely part of an effort to confuse him – make his way over to the side of the hospital bed and sit down in a chair beside it. "I… I bought another pack of cherry gummies." All Might-sensei paused for a long moment, and Tenya tried to quietly shuffle farther under the bed, so that no part of him would be visible if All Might-sensei chanced to look down. "We can eat them together when… When you wake up."

Biting his lower lip as he heard the sound of All Might-sensei standing up suddenly, Tenya watched as their teacher rose abruptly from the chair he'd been seated in, moving out of sight, and then exiting the hospital room nearly at a run; he expected that Midoriya-kun had been responsible for All Might-sensei's sudden departure. Given that the pair of them had arranged to stay in sight of one another, and considering how long he had been inside the room, Midoriya-kun was bound to have been concerned.

Once All Might-sensei had left the room, pausing for a moment at the door for a long moment, before slamming it on his way out, Tenya climbed out from under the bed he'd been concealing himself under. Looking down at the bed, Tenya found himself almost involuntarily shuddering as he caught sight of the blond man on the bed that All Might-sensei had apparently come to visit. The breathing mask clamped over the lower half of his face and the fact that the blond man seemed to be completely comatose was, unnervingly enough, seemingly the least of the problems that the man All Might-sensei was visiting was having.

With the maze of wires, monitors, and medical machines monitoring him, it was clear that – whoever this man actually _was_ – he was playing the part of someone All Might-sensei cared deeply about; someone he was willing to step into the dark, twisted ways of villainy to protect.

_~MHA~_

The sight of the blond man in the hospital bed, the one that Uncle Toshi had been visiting, stuck in his mind even as Izuku dove down to harry Uncle Toshi away from the entrance of the hospital. All of the medical equipment in the room, combined with the way the man in the bed had been laying so still, not to mention how _frail_ he looked… It was clear that – whatever kind of Villain Uncle Toshi was actually supposed to be – he had someone to protect.

Of course, that kind of thing would only make him even _more_ dangerous; Izuku remembered how scary Dad could be, when anyone had been stupid enough to threaten their family, and _he_ was a Hero.

The sound of his phone going off brought Izuku's attention back to the exercise he and the others were all participating in.

"Midoriya."

"Todoroki-san," he said, narrowing his eyes as he kept pace with Uncle Toshi from the air, using the wings that Hayato-kun had given to him then they were all kids; well, Hayato-kun had given him some of his hair, and then he'd been able to absorb his Quirk from _that_, but that wasn't important at the moment.

"While we were talking to Midnight and the others, we found that the Villain we're tracking has a brother," Todoroki-san said, and Izuku found his thoughts almost _snapping_ back to the blond man in the hospital bed.

"He's sick," Izuku muttered.

"Midoriya?"

"Sorry," he said, feeling a bit embarrassed that he'd let his old habits get the better of him, even at a time like this. "What I meant to say was, Iida-san and I tracked All Might-sensei… Um, the Villain, after he escaped from the jewelry store. It turned out that he was trying to visit his brother, who looks like he's been on life-support for… Well, I don't really know how long, but he didn't look good when I saw him."

"That _does_ sound like the kind of motivation that would drive someone to even fake their death, the way he did," Todoroki-san said, and Izuku found himself more than a little curious about what exactly had been going on while he and Iida-san had been tracking Uncle Toshi.

"Is that how he managed to escape from the store?"

"Yes," Todoroki-san said, sounding like it was hard for him to admit that kind of thing. "He managed to escape while we were all distracted interviewing the civilians."

Just as he was about to answer, to try to reassure Todoroki-san about what had happened with Uncle Toshi, the sight of Uncle Toshi whipping around to toss a knife in his direction drew his attention. Raising a small shield to deflect the weapon, since he knew it wasn't a good habit, to start thinking of this as just training when it was supposed to be as realistic as possible, Izuku folded his wings and dove down. Uncle Toshi turned to run, tossing a last knife that Izuku swatted aside with a telekinesis Quirk, and Izuku spread his wings wide to brake, while at the same time grabbing Uncle Toshi under his arms and around his waist using his telekinesis so that he could lift him off the ground just high enough that he wouldn't be able to run away.

He couldn't help wondering if Uncle Toshi was playing a Quirkless Villain for this exercise; some people without Quirks could end up like that, in the same way that some people with Quirks that people thought were scary or dangerous could end up that way. Dad and Uncle Toshi tried to help as many of those people as they could, but even _they_ couldn't be everywhere at once. Izuku always thought it was sad, finding out about the people that Dad and Uncle Toshi couldn't get to in time to help.

He wondered if that was the kind of Villain that Uncle Toshi was playing now.

"Good work, Midoriya. You've earned credit for capturing the Villain," Aizawa-sensei said, drawing Izuku's attention, even as he flapped steadily to remain in the air. "However, whether or not you earn _full_ credit for this assignment depends on how well you understood the situation."

"Well, it seems like – whoever the Villain was – he was more concerned with helping his brother than anything else," he said, grabbing Uncle Toshi with his hands, so even if he lost concentration he wouldn't end up dropping Uncle Toshi and letting him get away; this was still a capture exercise, after all. "Seeing someone you care about just… deteriorate like that, right in front of you while you can't do anything, it would drive _anyone_ to desperation," he continued, finding himself wondering if the story of these two had been based on what Dad had told him about _his_ past with Uncle Shiro; it sounded kind of familiar, that way. "And, well, I've heard that keeping someone in the hospital like that gets really expensive."

"Hmm, looks like you _do_ get full credit for this assignment. Villains motivated by desperation or ideology _are_ more dangerous than any other you might find yourself faced with," Aizawa-sensei said, looking like he was thinking about something else, too. "And I'm hardly going to dock you points for something you couldn't have known about, after all."

Izuku didn't have much time to wonder what Aizawa-sensei had meant by that, before he heard the sounds of his classmates approaching, and turned to them with a smile.

_~MHA~_

Once the special classes had ended for the day, and Toshinori could finally _relax_, he found himself completely unsurprised to find Hisashi – just shifting out of the form of the thin, frail blond that he'd said took more than a little inspiration from his younger brother, and so had left Toshinori wondering for a moment just what the first user of One For All would have made of it – lounging in the chair next to his computer.

"Looks like they used both our ideas for that class," Hisashi said, chuckling as Toshinori pulled out his chair and settled down in it.

"Yeah, looks like," he said, turning to grin at Hisashi, even as he booted up his computer for the second time that day. "You're so sentimental," he said, and was about to continue when the sound of Hisashi's laughter distracted him before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh, and I suppose you aren't?" Hisashi drawled, smiling amusedly back. "That silly love story _was_ your idea, Toshi-kun."

Grumbling a bit, knowing that he couldn't really argue with what Hisashi was saying, not without his old friend laughing at him, anyway. Turning his attention to the email he'd gotten, back at the start of the day, Toshinori found himself more than a little surprised at what he found in the message.

"Well, it seems as though Melissa-chan is particularly eager to see us again," Hisashi said, smiling widely as he leaned over, obviously reading over Toshinori's left shoulder.

"Yeah, she's going to send the entire family invitations to I-Expo," he said, reading to the end of the message, feeling the smile on his face growing all the wider as he found his thoughts straying back to the time he'd spent with David Shield, and eventually with his family. "There's even a PS from Hana," he said, as he reached the last lines of Melissa's message and found himself reading more. "She's really looking forward to seeing Tenko-kun again."

"I expect she would be," Hisashi said, his smile just as wide and pleased as Toshinori had seen him; thoughts of the family he'd formed always _did_ seem to draw out softer feelings from his oldest friend, something that Toshinori could fully understand. "Even though she _is_ fond of her life on I-Island, anyone would miss their loved ones if they spent so much time apart."

"Yeah," he muttered, smiling as he composed a reply.

Considering Melissa's offer to invite their entire family – except for Kotaru-kun, who had the absolute _worst_ case of motion sickness that Toshinori had ever come across; and Nao-chan, who didn't really like to travel – to stay at I-Island for the Expo, Toshinori knew that he and Hisashi were going to have a bit of work to do. Not to really _convince_ the rest of their family to come with them to visit Dave and Melissa, but just to prepare for the trip that they were all going to take.

_~MHA~_

Once Dad had picked him and Bambaa-chan up and they'd all gone home with Uncle Toshi, Izuku couldn't help but notice that both Dad _and_ Uncle Toshi seemed to have something on their minds; it was something they both seemed to be excited about, at least, so Izuku knew it wasn't likely to be anything _bad_, at least.

As he, Uncle Toshi, Dad, and Bambaa-chan all made their way back into the house, Izuku found himself more and more curious as Dad and Uncle Toshi called the rest of their family together to talk about whatever it was that they were so excited about. As it turned out, Cousin Melissa had invited them to come to I-Island for the I-Expo, as well as to stay with her, Uncle Dave, and Hana-nee for awhile. In the end, with the obvious exception of Uncle Kotaru and Auntie Nao, all of their family began making preparations to leave for I-Island.

Uncle Toshi and Tenko-nii, of course, just needed to call Uncle Mirai and let him know that they'd be gone for about a week or two, just in case they ended up being needed for the case they were both on. Dad had to let the rest of the Council know he'd be taking a short vacation, and of course he and Mom could just go and start packing for the trip. As Izuku made his way up the stairs to his room, he found himself wondering just what kind of new, cool Support gear the people who lived and worked on I-Island had made during the time he and his family had been away.

He also wondered how Tempest was doing, but he and Dad would probably be meeting up with _him_ in the air.

Once they'd all finished packing the last of their stuff, both for the trip and for the time that they were going to be staying on I-Island to catch up with Uncle Dave and Cousin Melissa, Izuku caught up with Dad, hugging him and then Mom, as the three of them all made their way up to the car so Dad could drive them to the airport. Hugging Bambaa-chan, Tenko-nii, and Uncle Toshi as the three of _them_ all made their way into the car, Izuku turned just in time to catch Granny Nana in a hug as _she_ came out to the car with her own stuff.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Hi, Granny," he said, smiling back at her as she grinned back, then turned to put her suitcases and bags in the trunk with the rest of their luggage.

_~MHA~_

Once their family had all boarded the plane and were on their way to I-Island, Toshinori settled back into his seat and allowed himself to relax. Sure, they _could_ have called ahead, so that either Izuku-chan or Hisashi-kun could use Warp Gate to get them to the island, but that would have blown the whole thing. Dave would have been able to find out that they were coming almost immediately, since there was a designated arrival-point for Warp Gates. No one wanted anybody arriving in an inconvenient or dangerous place, after all.

More than that, if there _was_ an undocumented teleporter loose, everyone would want to be able to respond to that kind of thing as quickly as they could, so it was better for everyone if people knew what to expect when someone who was actually _authorized_ teleported onto the island. Doing _that_ kind of thing would have spoiled the whole surprise, of course, hence the need for the small plane and the relative hassle of using an airport.

The sudden sight of fog, fairly thin but still gathering around the body of the plane, brought a small smile to Toshinori's face as he leaned forward to look out a nearby window. _Looks like Tempest just noticed we were coming._

_~MHA~_

After he'd received notification that an aircraft was approaching the outermost edges of the domain he presided over, Tempest called the winds to him, and then proceeded to layer a thin barrier of fog between the transport and the island; the place where he and his had been able to make happy lives for themselves, and hence the place he had dedicated himself to protecting. However, when the black mist emerged on the right side of the plane, Tempest found himself pausing in midair. And then, when the Little Dragon and his Elder emerged from the mist, Tempest smiled softly.

It seemed that those paying a visit to his protectorate island did _not_ need to be driven off, in the end.

Lending the winds he commanded to the Little Dragon, filling the child's large, green wings and allowing him to rise further into the air, Tempest turned to watch the Elder Dragon as he moved sinuously through the air. One of the many abilities within the Elder's hoard allowed him to pull the winds that were a part of Tempest's domain to him, allowing him to soar through the air alongside his child. Seeing the pair of them, each of them nearly _dancing_ through the air in the same way that Tempest himself had done, ever since he'd taken up residence within the Spire…

It was the most beautiful, natural thing that Tempest had borne witness to; at least since the last time he'd seen the man who wished to touch the stars themselves testing one of his inventions.

Still, the pair of them were eventually forced to leave his side, returning to the vehicle that had carried them to the edges of the domain that he'd steadfastly protected for so long, and Tempest returned once more to his home within the Spire. Calling down lightning to fully recharge the storage batteries within the Spire, Tempest look back toward the transport that had carried the Little Dragon and his Elder into his domain for a last time. It was more than likely, considering those that he had seen accompanying the pair of them, that his Pioneer of the Stars had invited them to stay with him.

Tempest made a personal vow, to at least speak to the Elder Dragon, before he and his departed from his protectorate domain once more.


	19. Sunlit reminiscence

Once they'd all made it back to the ground, stepping out into the air-conditioned space of I-Island's airport, Toshinori yawned deeply and stretched for the first time since he and the rest of their family had made their way onto the plane for their trip. He hadn't come in his powered-up form, of course, since there would be no way for him to escape the veritable stampede of fans and reporters who would have inevitably been drawn to All Might if he'd come into the airport looking like _that._

Still, it wasn't like anyone would be particularly interested in a Japanese politician, a social worker, a pair of Japanese Heroes, one of them still in training, and their civilian family members.

As the six of them continued on their way out of the airport and into the sunlight of I-Island's intricately landscaped grounds, Toshinori smiled as he felt the warm sunlight washing over his face. The scent of all the flowers that'd been planted in the displays all around them brought happy thoughts of Hana-chan all over again. He found himself wondering if Hana-chan had been responsible for growing any of the flowers around them. It was kind of funny, the way that Hana-chan and Tenko-kun's powers could be said to complement each other's near-perfectly.

Tenko-kun's Quirk, Decay, ran almost perfectly counter to Hana-chan's Quirk, Florist; something Toshinori often found himself thinking about was the way the Quirks of Tenko-kun's immediate family seemed to follow a kind of theme. Kotaru's Quirk allowed him to grow any kind of plant he wanted, Hana-chan's allowed her to grow flowers more specifically, and Nao's allowed her to revitalize both plants and people, either curing them of minor ailments or just making them feel better in general. Really, even Tenko-kun's Quirk fit with that, if you thought of Decay as something that made new soil for plants to grow in.

And really, it kind of did.

As he and the rest of the family continued on their way, Toshinori turned back to his search for Melissa and Hana-chan, since where you found one you were more than likely to find the other. Sure enough, he was soon greeted with the sight of Melissa and Hana-chan, both of them riding what seemed to be some kind of pink vehicles; Melissa looked like she was riding some kind of foldable pogo-stick kind of thing; Hana-chan, on the other hand, looked like she was riding an origami bicycle. It was really funny to see.

"Wow! You really all came!" Melissa shouted, hopping down from her pink pogo-stick thing with a huge, wide grin on her face. "It's so great to see you again, Uncle Might!" she exclaimed, making her way over to hug him, then moving on to Hisashi-kun. "Welcome back, Uncle Sashi!"

One by one, she moved down the line of them, hugging every one of them, moving on just before Hana-chan practically _skipped_ over to throw herself into Tenko-kun's arms.

_~MHA~_

"Hey, sis," he said, smiling as he and Hana held each other at arm's-length for a long moment.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Tenko," Hana said, smiling up at him, even as the pair of them clasped hands and made their way closer to Sensei and the rest of their family. "How's Dad doing?"

"He's being annoying, as usual," he said, smirking as Hana laughed, punching him lightly in the stomach.

"Tenko! You're terrible," Hana said, a slight grin on her face, as the pair of them met up with the rest of Sensei's family.

Little Zu-chan was looking around at all of them, an expression of consternation slowly growing on his face; it was clear that _something_ funny was going to be happening soon.

"Why is everyone here _taller_ than me?!" Zu-chan exclaimed, looking around at the rest of Sensei's family.

Tenko found himself laughing, but it was Cousin Mel who actually _did_ something, handing over that pink Pogo-stick thing of hers after transforming it into what seemed to be a pair of stilts.

"Thank you, Cousin Melly, you're the only one who understands me!" Zu-chan wailed, almost sounding like their idiot Uncle Toshi when he was out being All Might.

"Don't be so dramatic, Zu-chan," he said, not quite managing to keep himself from smirking, even as he made his way over to give his baby brother a light swat on the leg nearest to him.

"The _only_ _one_ who understands me," Zu-chan reiterated, leaning over to hug Cousin Mel in that same, over-dramatic way he'd been wailing; clearly, he was spending entirely too much time around their idiot Uncle Toshi.

He'd have to talk to Sensei about that.

Turning as he heard Cousin Mel laughing, Tenko rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's go surprise Papa at his lab," Cousin Mel said, once she'd managed to regain _some_ of her composure.

"Of course," Sensei said, smiling as he reached over to gently embrace Cousin Mel around her shoulders, pulling her in so he could press his right cheek against her head. "You _did_ invite us here to celebrate your father's accomplishment, yes?"

"Yeah, he's been working so hard on that project of his," Cousin Mel said, smiling back at all of them.

"Has he actually told you what he's _doing_? Or is he still keeping it all to himself?" he asked, as he and Sensei's family continued on their way, turning to head for Uncle Dave's lab.

"Well, he hasn't mentioned anything _yet_, but I can tell he's excited," Cousin Mel said, smiling back at him.

Given the smile on Sensei's face, Tenko had the feeling he knew more than he was telling; Sensei usually did, though.

_~MHA~_

When all six of them made their way into Papa's laboratory, Melissa didn't even try to keep herself from smiling. Having Uncle Might, Uncle Sashi, Auntie Inko, Granny Nana, and her cousins Tenko and Izuku back with her was one of the best things about having such a big family. Even if they _weren't_ all actually related to each other, it was still great to be able to spend time with them when she could. Stopping just in front of the door that would take her into Papa's lab, she turned back to Uncle Might and Uncle Sashi.

Both of them were smiling, but Uncle Sashi always looked like he knew something no one else knew; on the other hand, Uncle Sashi _had_ always been more than a bit of a tease.

"You guys wait outside," she said, smiling at her extended family as the six of them – seven, since Hana was standing next to her brother, Tenko – all stopped just outside the door. "I'll go get Papa ready for you."

Smiling as Uncle Might and Uncle Sashi both wished her good luck with what she was going to be doing, Melissa smiled more widely as she made her way into Papa's laboratory at last.

"Papa!" she exclaimed, feeling that same, bubbly excitement she'd felt when she'd first caught sight of Uncle Might and Uncle Sashi making their way off of the plane.

"Melissa," Papa said, turning to her with a wide, cheerful smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you so soon, but I thought you were still studying."

"I got off early, and I also brought along some people that you dearly love," she said, grinning widely at him.

"What? Who?"

Smiling at Papa as the door opened, Melissa laughed as Papa seemed to _light up_ with happiness as Uncle Might and Uncle Sashi came into the room, leading the rest of their family.

"Izuku, why are you on _stilts_?" Papa asked, turning to smile up at Cousin Izuku as he came stamping up to him on the stilts she'd transformed her Hopper into.

"Because everyone here is _taller_ than me, Uncle Dave," Cousin Izuku said, his face scrunched up in a pretty adorable expression of annoyance.

_~MHA~_

Reaching up to ruffle little Izuku's soft, wavy hair, David didn't even try to stop himself from smiling as he, Toshi, Hisashi, and all of their family made their way into the living area of the laboratory he spent more and more time in. As the nine of them all settled around the dining room table, David turned to give Hisashi a subtle signal. He'd always been curious about the nature of Toshi's old friend's Quirk, how it allowed him to actually _take_ Quirks, and then use them as though he'd been born with them to begin with. He called it All For One; the name itself was kind of simple, but given how early in someone's life their Quirk emerged – at least for those who had them, he reflected, turning his gaze to Melissa where she was, sitting next to Izuku – David figured that that kind of thing made at least some sense.

It _did_ sound like the kind of name a little kid would think up, after all.

Still, for the time being, David was content to enjoy the time he and Melissa would get to spend with their extended family from Japan.

Still, eventually there was enough of a lull in conversation that David felt comfortable asking Hisashi if they could discuss the workings of his Quirk in more detail. He'd always been fascinated by the way Hisashi's Quirk levels would rise, seemingly exponentially, every time he brought a new Quirk into his stockpile. He'd seen the phenomenon first-hand, back when he'd lent the man his own Quirk – as small as that kind of thing really was, compared to the Quirks that Hisashi had collected over the course of his life – and seen the resulting rise in Hisashi's Quirk levels.

And then the corresponding fall, when Hisashi had returned it to him.

"Thanks again for agreeing to this, Hisashi," he said, as the pair of them made their way into the part of his personal laboratory where he studied the effects of Quirks on the people who had been born with them.

However, someday David wanted to study the process that Hisashi used to give Quirks to someone else; maybe even to have the chance to take a scan of the brainwaves of the person Hisashi was giving the hypothetical Quirk to.

"Of course, David," Hisashi said, smiling as he settled down on the chair David offered to him. "Honestly, your insatiable curiosity about Quirks reminds me so much of Ujiko's. It's rather endearing," Hisashi continued, smiling at him as David attached the monitoring devices one-by-one to his head.

"I'm glad to remind you of one of your friends, at least," he said, laughing softly as he made his way over to the computer that would be recording the data from the brainwave monitors that he'd attached to Hisashi.

"Is something wrong?" Hisashi asked, a concerned expression on his face. "You seem preoccupied."

"It's just," he paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he contemplated everything that had been going on in his life between this moment and when he'd last had the chance to speak to Hisashi. "I'd been working on a project; something to help people with less powerful or versatile Quirks to get some more use out of them."

"You made some kind of Quirk enhancer?"

"Yes," he said, pushing his glasses back up and sighing; these thoughts had never been exactly _happy_ for him. "Unfortunately, someone in the government caught wind of it, and they took it away from me. I think they might have been worried that someone with a particularly powerful Quirk would get their hands on it, so that was their rationale not only to confiscate the _results_ of my research, but also to put an end to the project entirely. They stored the prototype away in some kind of secured government facility," he chuckled briefly, recalling Hisashi's proclivity for sticking close to the _letter_ of the law, all while twisting the spirit _just_ enough so that he didn't _actually_ break anything. "I kind of wish that _you_ worked for the American government; you'd probably end up storing it in your home office, and then claiming that _that_ counted as a secured government facility."

Hisashi laughed outright. "Well, my house _does_ have unparalleled security," Hisashi said, then paused for a long moment, studying him in a way that had always made David feel like Toshi's old friend could see into his very _soul_ with a deep enough look; it was always strange to be on the other end of that stare.

Almost like looking into Tempest's eyes, when the Guardian of I-Island was in the midst of one of the storms he created with his own Quirk.

_~MHA~_

Having Cousin Melly to show them all around was nice, since she knew just where everything was and what the Support gear all around them could do, but Izuku quickly found himself surprised by the sight of Ochako-san, Yaoyorozu-san, and Jiro-san.

"You seem to be having fun, Deku," Ochako-san said, though there was a look on her face that Izuku couldn't quite interpret.

"Is this one of your friends from school, Cousin Izuku?" Cousin Melly asked, turning to look up at him as he teetered a bit on the stilts she'd let him use.

"She's your cousin, Midoriya?" Jiro-san asked, turning to him with a considering expression on her face.

He smiled widely. "Her father's a friend of Uncle Toshi, so we kind of grew up together. She's kind of like my big sister. Cousin Melly, these are some of my friends from school: Jiro-san, Yaoyorozu-san, and Ochako-san are all in the Hero course, and all three of them are in Class 1-A with me," he said, but the sight of Tenko-nii's face distracted Izuku before he would say anything else.

"Ochako-chan there is also Zu-chan's _girlfriend_, Cousin Mel."

"It's nothing like that!" he exclaimed, feeling his cheeks heat up in the way they always did whenever anyone would start to bring up the relationship he didn't actually _have_ with Ochako-san.

Glaring down at Tenko-nii as his annoying big brother started laughing, Izuku stamped over to him and swatted Tenko-nii upside the head.

Turning at the sound of Jiro-san laughing, Izuku frowned.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Midoriya," Jiro-san said, smiling at him in a way that reminded him more than a little of the way Tenko-nii would when _he_ was being annoying.

"Midoriya's romantic prospects are really none of our business," Yaoyorozu-san said, and while Izuku knew she was _trying_ to be nice, there was still something about what she was _saying_…

"I don't actually _have_ any romantic prospects, Momo-san," he said, rubbing the back of his head; the whole thing was getting way too embarrassing, but fortunately Cousin Melly seemed to understand that.

"Come on, let's go have some tea at the café," Cousin Melly said, turning back to his three classmates with an understanding smile.

One of the many reasons he liked spending time with Cousin Melly was the way she understood him; she and Uncle Dave were both really great, that way. When the seven of them had all settled down at one of the outdoor tables in the café, Izuku smiled as he caught sight of Mom and Dad, seated at their own table. Dad, of course, was the first one to notice as they all came out.

"Hello, Izuku," Dad said, smiling as the seven of them all settled down at a table next to where Mom and Dad were sitting together. "And company, of course. How are you kids all finding this place?"

"It's been a very pleasant experience, Midoriya-san," Yaoyorozu-san said. "I'm glad to be able to have such an enjoyable time. I was actually invited because my father is a shareholder in some of the Expo's sponsor companies. I suppose I don't have to ask how _you_ ended up obtaining an invitation, Midoriya."

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head; this whole thing was getting more than a little awkward. "Well, being friends with Uncle Dave _does_ have some benefits, I guess."

"Here are your drinks."

Turning to thank the server who'd just showed up, finding himself wondering about the familiarity of the voice he'd just heard, Izuku found himself surprised to see a particularly familiar person.

"Kaminari-san?"

"Hey, Midoriya," his classmate said, grinning as he set down the drink that Izuku had ordered.

"You and Mineta-san _both_ work here?" he asked, looking between the both of them as his classmates both came up to the table where he and all of his friends were all sitting together.

"Yeah, we got jobs during the Expo, so we could get some extra money _and_ take a free trip to the Island," Mineta-san said, smiling at him in that same, perverse way he always seemed to do when he was talking. "Well, that and we could have the chance to meet-" Mineta-san had been glancing over his right shoulder while he'd been speaking, and Izuku was more than a little tempted to roll his eyes; he had a feeling he knew just where it was that his perverse classmate was looking. "Oh _wow_, I think I'm in love!"

"C'mon, Midoriya," Kaminari-san said, elbowing him in the side with the same kind of excited, perverse smile that Mineta-san was wearing. "Tell us who those high-voltage hotties you're hanging out with are!"

"That's Cousin Melly, and Cousin Hana, but-"

He was just about to tell Kaminari-san and Mineta-san just who Cousin Hana was related to, if only so that they wouldn't make the mistake of actually _hitting_ _on_ her while Tenko-nii was sitting right there with all of them, when the pair of them pretty much _leaped_ over a couple chairs in their way, smiling widely.

"Are you two in Cousin Izuku's class, too?" Cousin Melly asked, looking over at the pair of them as Kaminari-san and Mineta-san smiled at her.

"More importantly, are you _hitting _on my _sister_?" Tenko-nii demanded, standing up slowly from the table, eyes narrowed and an almost _crazed_ grin on his face.

For all that people said that _Dad_ could be scary when he put his mind to it, Izuku always found that _Tenko-nii_ was the one who unsettled him the most when he tried out his intimidation tactics. And apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought that.

"_No, sir_!" Kaminari-san and Mineta-san shouted, _snapping_ to attention and almost seeming like they'd be _saluting_ Tenko-nii if they hadn't been panicking so much.

"Good," Tenko-nii said, settling back into his seat with the same kind of laconic air as Dad.

Really, Tenko-nii _did_ honestly seem to admire Dad, to the point where he tried to imitate him in more than a few ways.

The sound of distant explosions drew the attention of pretty much everyone at the table, and Izuku narrowed his eyes as he used the Telescopic Vision Quirk that Dad had given him. There wasn't any sign of adverse weather effects, so that meant that it probably wasn't anything that would involve Tempest; particularly an attack, since _that_ kind of thing would have drawn the Guardian's attention quicker than pretty much anything else.

The ten of them, naturally, were quick to investigate; Iida-san had caught up with them while Tenko-nii was busy terrifying Kaminari-san and Mineta-san into submission, and seeing him yell at the pair of them was still as funny as usual.

It turned out to be some kind of a competition; an obstacle-course scattered with faux-Villains that reminded him more than a little of the various training-grounds that had been built on and around U.A.'s campus. Looking down into the pit where all of the robots and various terrain obstacles had been built, probably with an eye toward making it easier for anyone without a vision-enhancing Quirk, or anyone outside of the first couple rows of seats, to see what was going on down on the field, Izuku wondered who it was that'd been making so much noise.

"So, _this_ is why you offered me your ticket, ya nerd."

"Kacchan," he said, turning to face his oldest friend, then jumping backwards in surprise as he found himself almost _nose-to-nose _with Kacchan. Grumbling as Kacchan laughed at the sight of him falling right down on his butt, Izuku stood up quickly. "Very funny, Kacchan."

"'Course it was," Kacchan said, grinning unrepentantly back at him as he jumped the railing, making his way over to where the ten of them were all standing together.

"Is this another of your friends from class, Cousin Izuku?" Cousin Melly asked, turning to him.

"Yeah, this is Kacchan," he said, giving Kacchan himself an annoyed look before turning back to Cousin Melly. "He's the one I was talking to you about."

"Oh, _he's_ your old friend from when you both were kids," Cousin Melly said, smiling wider at all of them. "It's nice to meet you, Kacchan," she said, offering her right hand to Kacchan to shake.

"Call me Katsuki," Kacchan said, an easy, self-confident smile on his face as he leaned his back against the railing. "So, I guess this makes _you_ the Cousin Melly this little nerd's been talking about for the last day and a half."

"Yeah, that's me," Cousin Melly said.

"Great," Kacchan said, then turned back to him, a challenging grin emerging on his face. "So, when are _you_ heading down there, nerd?"

"I don't know," he said, rubbing the back of his head; it always felt a bit awkward, competing against anyone but Dad and Uncle Toshi, since all three of them possessed at least _some_ kind of stockpiling Quirk. "Really, I don't think it'd be fair for me to compete here."

"Fair, shmair," Kacchan drawled, rolling his eyes.

Before he could say even a single word, Kacchan turned to grab him by the back of his collar and actually _kicked_ him over the railing so that he fell down into the pit that had been set up for the faux-Villain competition. Growling deep in his throat, even as he extended the wings that Hayato had given him, the day after he'd discovered the true nature of his Quirk, Izuku turned around in the air. Flapping hard so that he could rise back up to the level where his family and classmates were all gathered together, Izuku grabbed Kacchan before his friend – annoying as he was, sometimes – could get away from him.

_Throwing_ Kacchan down into the water of the moat that surrounded the arena for some reason or other, Izuku circled back around to land in the arena itself.

_~MHA~_

Finding himself alone in his laboratory once more, David sighed as he studied the scans he'd taken of Hisashi's Quirk levels. He wasn't truly _focused_ on them, however, not since he'd received word that the distraction he'd called in – the one that he was hoping would allow him to reclaim the prototype that had been so unfairly taken from him – was on its way. He could only hope that Hisashi would understand, when he had the chance to speak to Izuku's father about what he'd arranged.

Considering that his son, his adopted daughter, and the other boy he'd seemed to have all but adopted as well were all going to be at the party with them, David knew that he would have his work cut out for him during the course of said explanation; if anything _happened_ to any of them, he knew all bets would be off…

Sighing as he stood up, David made his way back to his room. All other considerations aside, he _was_ still going to need to get ready for the upcoming reception that they were all going to be attending soon. He'd also need to marshal his arguments for Hisashi, given what was about to happen. If he didn't, Hisashi was almost _certain_ to do something drastic with one or more of those many Quirks he'd collected.

It was pretty much the same reason that he'd had to alert Tempest about what was going to happen tonight: the Guardian of I-Island was as serious about the protection of the island he watched over as Hisashi was about protecting his family.

"David, are you going to start dressing up soon?" Inko asked, making her way over to the bar-style counter where he'd been sitting, contemplating what was going to be happening soon.

"Oh, right," he said, turning to smile at the woman who'd so thoroughly captured his old friend Hisashi's heart. "Thanks for reminding me, Inko."

"Of course," Inko said, smiling at him as she made her way out to the front of his home.

The home he'd offered to them for the week they'd all be staying with him and Melissa on I-Island.

Hurrying to his room, David quickly dressed in the formal clothes he'd set out for himself at the beginning of the day, then made his way back to the front of his quarters. Hisashi, Inko, Tenko, and Hana were already gathered there, and Toshi was just changing into his Hero form. The latest costume he'd created – the one that had come to be called All Might's Golden Age costume – stretched to accommodate Toshi's growth into the form that he and Hisashi had explained was created when the full power of his Quirk – One For All, which had apparently been named by Hisashi's younger brother as a counterpart to Hisashi's own All For One – was allowed to flow through him instead of being restricted. It was strange to think about, as well as more than a little fascinating, to observe the mechanics of two such closely related Quirks first-hand.

Seeing Hisashi's idea of formalwear was as funny as usual, since all he actually _did_ was add a tie to the suit he habitually wore.

Tenko was wearing nearly the same kind of suit that Hisashi was, which really fit with the way he admired the man, with only the gloves that he was wearing serving to set the pair of them apart in any real way; Hisashi's adopted daughter with the pronounced cat Quirk was wearing a pleated skirt patterned like the night sky, paired with a shimmering, sleeveless black top and a black velvet bow around her neck, with a matching bow at the mid-point of her tail; Hana was in a shimmery, pale-blue sheath dress with a tie on her left shoulder that looked more than a little like one of the flowers she enjoyed growing. Inko was in a dark, fitted red velvet dress, with a dark belt wrapped around her waist; the belt itself was a shiny black, which made it a good match with the suit that Hisashi was wearing.

"Well, I suppose since the rest of the children are going to be meeting up with us at the reception itself, everyone _here_ is prepared," Hisashi said, smiling at them in that semi-amused way that he seemed to have perfected during the however-many centuries he'd been alive.

_~MHA~_

"Wow, this is amazing, Cousin Melly. So _this_ is what you've been working on lately?" Izuku asked, grinning widely as Cousin Melly showed him around the personal laboratory she'd been working in ever since she'd gotten into I-Academy in the first place.

"Yeah," Cousin Melly said, but before she could really get into what she was currently doing, the sound of his phone going off drew his attention.

"Where _are_ you, Midoriya?!" Iida-san demanded, before Izuku could think up a single thing to say in response. "It's time for us to meet up before the reception!"

"Right, sorry!" he exclaimed, feeling himself almost _snap_ to attention at the tone of Iida-san's voice. "We'll be right there!"

Turning to leave Cousin Melly's lab, Izuku shook his head as he called up Hayato-kun's Quirk from within his own variant of All For One – he still needed to pick out a good name for his Quirk; or at least narrow the ideas he had down to a _single_ page – and flew back to Uncle Dave's house. Landing outside his window, Izuku climbed back into his room so that he could pick up the suit that Dad had laid out for him. The suit itself was a dark blue version of the suit that Dad always wore, at least when he wasn't out saving and healing people as Sensei, and Dad had even remembered that he liked bow ties better than any other kind.

Bow ties _were_ cool, after all.

Once he'd finished dressing up, wings folding neatly into his back as he pulled Hayato-kun's Quirk into the depths of his own All For One again, Izuku hurried to the seventh lobby in the central tower as quickly as he could. When he finally _did_ make it there, he only ended up finding Todoroki-san, Iida-san, Kaminari-san, and Mineta-san standing in the lobby with him. Kaminari-san and Mineta-san were actually still in their work clothes, which brought Izuku up short for a moment.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked, looking around the room, just in case he'd managed to miss the rest of his fellow classmates when he'd first made his way into the room.

"They're late," Iida-san snapped, an annoyed look on his face. "Does the concept of an arranged meeting time mean _nothing_ to you people?"

Before he could say anything, Ochako-san came into the room, quickly followed by Yaoyorozu-san, and Jiro-san. Mineta-san and Kaminari-san were both particularly excited to see all of the girls as the three of them made their way into the lobby where the five boys had previously gathered. Once Cousin Melly had joined their group again, Izuku found himself wondering just where Kacchan and Kirishima-san were going to show up.

Still, they _were_ probably all staying in different hotels, and he knew how much Kacchan hated dressing up, so Kirishima-san had probably ended up having to ride herd on Kacchan the same way Izuku had found himself doing, those times when a formal event would come up.

"Kacchan and Kirishima-san are probably going to be late," he said, looking around at Cousin Melly and his fellow classmates, though most of his attention was focused on Iida-san. "Kacchan doesn't really like dressing up."

"Well then, I suppose we shouldn't bother waiting for them," Iida-san grumbled, folding his arms and glaring around at those who _had_ gathered in the seventh lobby. "I'll give them a call when we make it to the reception."

_~MHA~_

"You've managed to get control of the main computer?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly, even as he continued preparing his costume for the party he was about to make his appearance at; he wouldn't exactly say that he was _crashing_ said party, since at the end of the day this was just a performance and all, but he'd be there all the same. "Good; I'll be heading in soon, then."

Locking his phone, Maxwell Wolfe – Wolfram, while he was working – tucked it neatly away in a hidden pocket of his costume, and then finished preparing himself for his I-Island debut.

Making his way out of the room he'd been using to prepare his costume, Wolfram made a last adjustment to his stark white longcoat and helmet, then made his way out to meet with the rest of his crew.

"The mainframe's under our control and the place is about to go on lockdown, so once I give the signal we'll move in," he said, making his way over to where the other members of his strange little troupe were waiting. "All right, Minis, you all head up to the control room. You'll be all right there," he continued, turning to the smallest and _strangest_ members of the troupe he'd formed.

The two of them nodded, calling out their thanks and goodbyes to him as one of the others he was working with escorted them into a nearby elevator. _All right, then,_ he mused, smiling slightly as he fell into step with the rest of his group. _Let's see what that scientist thinks of this little show of ours._

_~MHA~_

When he and the rest of his classmates, at least the ones who'd been ready when Iida-san had called all of them to meet him in the lobby where they'd all been gathered, all began making their way down into the main room where the reception was going to be taking place, Izuku noticed that Iida-san was frowning at his phone.

"What's wrong, Iida-san?" he asked, turning to look back over his left shoulder even as he kept pace with the rest of their group as they all continued on their way down through the wide hallway.

"I'm attempting to contact Kirishima-kun and Bakugo-kun," Iida-san said, clearly frustrated by what he was having to deal with. "But I can't seem to get through to either of them."

"That's weird," he said, taking out his own phone so that he could check and see whether he could contact Kacchan or Kirishima-san. "Mine doesn't work, either," he said, narrowing his eyes as he held his own phone to his ear, then locked it and tucked it away in his pocket as he pulled his own copy of Dad's Mental Voice Quirk up again. _/Dad, is your phone working? Iida-san and I can't get through to anyone./_

_/Give me a moment to check, Izuku. The reception is beginning in earnest./_

_/All right,/_ he said, nodding. _/I'll keep in touch./_

_/I will too, Izuku,/_ Dad said, and just from the tone of his voice Izuku could tell his father was smiling.

"I don't know if Dad is having the same kind of trouble, but I've let him know what's going on," he said, turning to look back at the rest of his classmates as they all continued on their way.

"That's good to know, at least," Iida-san said, sighing softly.

_~MHA~_

"As you can see, this whole tower is under our control," Wolfram said, grinning as he made his way into the room where all of the partygoers were standing, amid the sounds of the tower going into lockdown.

Before he could say even one single word more, however, Wolfram caught sight of _him_. Finding himself suddenly under the red-eyed gaze of the man, pinned by a look that was – for the moment – slightly amused and more than a bit assessing, sent a shudder crawling up Maxwell's spine. He'd seen the man before; seen the man with his curly white hair and his blood-crimson eyes; seen the way he'd lounged indolently in that chair, surrounded by fires and wearing the blood of what he'd later found out were some criminal lowlifes who'd had the thoroughly bad luck to kidnap the man's son. Maxwell _knew_ that the white-haired man was Death.

Wolfram… was going to have to deal with him.

"What have you come here for, Villain?" All Might demanded, bringing Wolfram's attention firmly back to the present, and everything that went along with it.

"All Might, please," David Shield, the man who'd invited him to this party in the first place – though he'd somehow neglected to mention that White Death _himself_ would be in attendance – said, stepping in front of the Number One Hero. "I'll go with you; just as long as you allow all the people here to leave with their lives."

_Right, right. Kayfabe,_ Wolfram reflected, forcing his attention back to the present; back to where Shield, All Might, and _White Death_ were all standing, gathered around him. "All right then, let's take this outside," he said, forcing himself to sound steadier than he felt.

He could only hope that he'd be able to talk his way out of things; that White Death _wouldn't_ decide to paint the walls with his insides as soon as look at him.

"I'll be coming with you," _White Death_ himself said; Maxwell nearly swallowed his tongue. "My son and some of his friends were caught in one of the lobbies before the lockdown; I expect they'll be wanting to meet up with us, considering our present circumstances."

_Fucked. _Sideways_, with a rusty chainsaw,_ was the only thought that remained in Maxwell's mind, once White Death had made his pronouncement. Gathering what scraps he could of his remaining composure, Maxwell- _Wolfram_ tried to regain his conversational momentum. "Right, here's how it's going to go," he said, yanking his helmet off and biting back the hysterical laughter that seemed to want to crawl up the back of his throat even as he turned to face White Death. "Before you rip out my spine and feed it to me, let's go see if we can find your kid."

"Hisashi, have you met this man before?" Shield asked, turning to White Death with an expression of curiosity on his face.

Maxwell didn't _quite_ manage to hold down his hysterical laughter at those words; of _course_ Shield would end up being friends with White Death, because it wasn't as though this evening hadn't gone to shit _enough_. "Yeah, you might say that."

"So, you're _not_ actually a Villain?" All Might asked, turning from him to White Death with a confused expression of his own.

"No, I just play one on television," he said, feeling a rictus sort of grin stretching his face as he continued speaking; sheer terror could fuck with your head in more ways than one, it seemed.

"Were you that boy I encountered, when Izuku and Melissa-chan were kidnapped that day?" White Death asked, turning to him with an expression that seemed more calculating than curious.

"Yeah, that was me," he said, bobbing his head slightly; the closest he could get to a nod while he felt so _tense_.

Like hell was he going to mention to _White Death_ that he'd been looking into joining up with that group, maybe moving up the ranks and taking control someday. Sure, he made bank with the job, but there was still a part of him that wondered what would've happened if he _hadn't_ met White Death that fateful day.

_~MHA~_

As the eight of them all continued on their way up through the main tower, after being lightened by Ochako-san, Izuku narrowed his eyes as he felt the familiar prodding of Dad's attempting to contact him with Mental Voice.

_/What is it, Dad?/_

_/Have you encountered anyone else in the corridors, Izuku?/_ Dad asked, and Izuku found himself confused.

_/There's more people in the tower with us?/_ he asked, making sure to keep flapping his wings, since there'd been a few times that he'd forgotten to do that kind of thing and then found himself drifting toward the ground.

He didn't quite know if it was some obscure mechanic of Hayato's Quirk – he hadn't made quite a deep enough study of the full mechanics of that particular Quirk, since there were so many other Quirks that he'd collected that he _also_ wanted to study and document – but whenever he would stop flapping his wings, he'd drift slowly towards the ground, instead of just falling out of the sky as soon as he stopped moving them.

_/Apparently, David thought this celebration of ours needed to be more exciting, so he hired a troupe of actors to enact a Villain attack,/_ Dad said, and Izuku could tell that Dad was smiling, wherever he currently was. _/Head up to the main control room, and we'll meet you there./_

"What's going on, Deku?" Ochako-san asked, as Izuku guided them back to the ground again.

"Dad says that the lockdown is because of a fake Villain attack," he said, locking his phone and tucking it back into his pocket as he turned back to his other seven of his classmates as he settled all of them back on the ground again. "Dad said that Uncle Dave wanted to make the party more exciting, so he hired some actors to play Villains and stage an attack," he said, pulling Hayato's Quick back into his own All For One, and feeling his wings folding back into his body as he did so. "He also said that we should meet him and Uncle Dave in the main control room," he said, pausing for a moment as he found himself wondering where Uncle Toshi was in all of this.

As he and his fellow classmates continued on their way up through the tower, they were met at the elevator by Kacchan, Kirishima-san, and a pair of uniformed actors who ushered the ten of them into the elevator. Even though the elevators on I-Island were fairly large, having _twelve_ people all in the same elevator did make things more than a little cramped. It was, therefore, more than a bit of a relief when they all made it to the 200th floor and were finally able to get off.

"Uncle Might!" Cousin Melly exclaimed, throwing herself into Uncle Toshi's arms as they all arrived in the main control room of the central tower.

"The fuck are the _Minis_ doing here?!" Kacchan demanded, stomping over to the control chair in front of the mainframe computer.

Sure enough, Ichiro Bubaigawara was sitting down in front of the computer, looking at the schematics of the tower, probably so that he could oversee the tower's lockdown. Ichiro and his "siblings"… The eight of them really were the strangest kind of people that he'd come across, and certainly the strangest he'd ever _met_. They'd originally been "born" when Uncle Jin – whose Quirk allowed him to duplicate anything twice, hence the name, and then make copies from the copies he'd made – had been staying with Uncle Toshi in an effort to get back on his feet.

Izuku had been visiting Uncle Toshi at work, and when he'd gone to see Uncle Jin for the first time, he'd seen that Uncle Jin hadn't been feeling very well and so he'd gone to hug him. He'd been about four at the time, so when Uncle Jin and the copies of himself that he'd already made had used their Quirks to copy him, all eight of his copies had come out at the same apparent age. And, since Uncle Jin's copies didn't age themselves, Ichiro and the other seven like him still looked like small, adorable four year olds, even when they were only four years younger than he currently was.

There were times that Izuku found himself feeling sorry for them, since there was a certain way that people treated someone when they looked the way Ichiro and his "brothers" did, even in a superhuman society like theirs.

Once they'd gotten the lockdown solved, bringing the tower back to its normal operation status, Uncle Toshi and Wolfram – the actor who'd been hired by Uncle Dave to distract the security so that he could get back the Quirk-enhancer he'd created – had decided to put on a show for the people still down in the reception. Wolfram had a Quirk that allowed him to control metal, so when he and Uncle Toshi made their way up to the roof of the tower, Wolfram surfed down from the roof of the tower on a scrap of metal plating from the roof, and assembled a three-dimensional obstacle course for Uncle Toshi to traverse while the pair of them were falling back toward the ground. Uncle Toshi leaped, swung, and climbed all around the uneven bars that Wolfram had suspended in the air with the use of his Quirk.

It looked like some kind of Olympic routine; really cool, but Izuku still found himself wondering what was going to happen next.

As it turned out, after he, Uncle Dave, Dad, Uncle Toshi, and the rest of his fellow classmates had filled out some forms – mostly about their the quality of their experience with the company in general and Wolfram in particular – Izuku ended up meeting some of the employees of the Help Us Company. He also ended up encountering something a bit less pleasant…

"Sorry, sorry," he said, grabbing a tissue and pressing it against his nose as he tried to block another sneeze. "One of my Quirks is a passive sensory-enhancement type," he said, then found himself forced to cover his nose as he started sneezing again.

"Sorry about that, sir," the man said, wiping at his face, which had been decorated with smears of what was obviously the fake blood that H.U.C. used to make themselves seem like more convincing victims during the simulated disasters and Villain attacks that they participated in. "If we'd known you had that kind of a Quirk beforehand, we could have brought one of our reformulated, non-allergic versions."

"Thanks," Izuku said, sneezing for what he hoped would be the last time.

After the excitement of that first day, Izuku was glad to be able to settle down and relax for the next four that they were all spending on I-Island. He noticed that Houshimaru Bubaigawara and Bambaa-chan seemed to be bonding over a shared love of space, and Uncle Dave looked like _he_ was getting in on their conversation, too. Still, as Dad came over with a pair of meat kabobs and a bottle of chilled cherry soda, Izuku smiled as he allowed himself to lean back into Dad's embrace as the pair of them lounged together in the large, reclining deck chair that Dad had previously staked out. Whatever else happened later, now was a time for them all to relax.


	20. Camp Crash Course

Once all of Class 1-A had left the sanctuary of I-Island behind, it'd been mutually decided that they'd all meet up for some fun and training at the school pool. Smiling widely as he lapped the pool for the third time, Izuku turned as he caught sight of Kacchan, blasting his way across the pool to land neatly on the other side. Since the last he'd heard, Kacchan, Iida-san, Todoroki-san, and most of the other boys in their class had been in a _swimming_ competition, seeing Kacchan _launch_ himself across the pool was more than a little funny.

"What happened to swimming, Kacchan?" he asked, making his way over to where his old friend was standing, beginning to smile at the grin on his old friend's face.

"It's called Freestyle swimming, nerd," Kacchan said, grinning as he came over to firmly ruffle Izuku's hair.

"Yeah, but isn't the general point of _swimming_ to actually be _in_ the water?" he retorted, grinning right back at Kacchan as the rest of their classmates all made it to the end of the pool.

Sero-san, in particular, didn't seem happy at all.

"Well, if you're so particular about _water_, nerd," Kacchan said, grinning in that way he always did when he was planning to do something that he knew would annoy Izuku.

When Kacchan tried to toss _him_ into the pool, Izuku quickly called up Hayato's Quirk, flapping his copied wings so he could stay out of the pool. Pulling up the Hydrokinisis Quirk that Dad had showed him, and even Kacchan, more than a few times when they were just little kids, Izuku separated four long tendrils from the main mass of the pool water and aimed a slap from each and every one at Kacchan's head. Laughing, Kacchan dodged and wove around the water whips Izuku was wielding.

Finding himself laughing as well, Izuku started gathering up the water in the pool with his Hydrokinisis Quirk, rolling it into a long tube that he began to raise out of the pool in an effort to slam it down on Kacchan.

_~MHA~_

Laughing as the nerd tried to smack him with the _whole goddamn pool_, Katsuki also kept an eye on Zuzu as well as he did. Given the way Zuzu's Quirk worked, and how excitable the nerd could get when he _did_ use it, there was a better than average chance that he'd end up overusing the Quirk he was currently using and knock himself out. And, sure enough, Zuzu's eyes began fluttering, and he yawned even as his large, leathery green wings began struggling to keep him in the air.

Leaping across the pool, Katsuki quickly caught his nerdy friend before he could fall into the fucking water and drown himself like the over-excited idiot he acted like when he got too into using more than one of the Quirks that Uncle Sashi had given him. Or even the ones he'd collected for himself, the little nerd.

Holding said nerd in his arms for a long moment, Katsuki made his way over to where most of the girls were standing, talking to each other about something or other that he didn't pay much attention to.

"Hey, Ponytail, you mind making something for Zuzu, here?" he asked, once there was a lull in the conversation from all of them looking at him.

"Not at all, Bakugo-san," Ponytail said, smiling cheerfully at him, before turning to step back into the school for a bit, coming back out with a folded deck chair. "Here, let me help you."

"Yeah," he said, smiling as he made his way over to the far wall, stepping back slightly as Ponytail opened the chair up, and then settling the sleepy little nerd down on the chair so he could get the rest he needed since he'd overused his Quirks like the over-excited little kid he always turned into when he was playing with his collection of Quirks.

The sight of more of that weird shimmer that always happened when Ponytail would use her Quirk to make stuff drew Katsuki's attention, and he chuckled as he saw her pulling out a sleep mask and settling it firmly over Zuzu's eyes. The thing even done up in U.A.'s colors, and had "Plus Ultra" seemingly embroidered on it. The nerd was bound to love it, when he managed to get a look at it, at least.

Making his way back to where all of the other extras were standing around, he found himself grinning at the expression on Hedgehog's face as he came to rejoin the rest of them.

"Really manly save back there, Bakugo."

"Thanks," he said, grinning even as he kind of wondered just what in the hell was behind Hedgehog's whole obsession with manliness.

It was kind of weird, though; he'd never heard of that kind of attitude from any of the Pros he knew about. Zuzu would probably know, but Katsuki would be the first to admit that he didn't care _that_ much. It wasn't something All Might was known for, at least.

_~MHA~_

When he woke up again, Izuku found himself relaxing in the back of their family car with his head in Dad's lap.

"Good to see you awake again, Izuku," Dad said, smiling gently at him as Izuku tried to stifle a yawn while he was sitting up.

"It's nice to see you again, too, Dad," he said, leaning in to give Dad a hug as Uncle Toshi drove them back home.

After they'd all made it back to the house again, Izuku smiled as Dad leaned down to kiss Mom hello again, and leaned into the hug that Uncle Toshi offered him. After dinner, when he went to bed, Izuku found himself _pulled deep into the Quirk-space that he'd found himself granted access to when he'd eaten Uncle Toshi's hair…_

"_Uncle Shiro!" he exclaimed, making his way over to where Dad's brother was waiting for him._

"_I guess I am _never_ going to get away from that nickname," Uncle Shiro said, though the smile on his face suggested that he was more amused than annoyed by the prospect._

"_Did you want to talk to me about something, Uncle Shiro?" he asked, since there was a look on his uncle's shadowed face that kind of suggested that there _was_ more to this meeting than just the kind of after-effect that'd come from him trying to use his version of All For One – that he still needed a proper _name_ for – to copy One For All._

"_Really, I just wanted to spend some time with you, Izuku," Uncle Shiro said, sounding happier than Izuku had heard him sound that first time the both of them had met. "I never really expected to _have_ a nephew. Hisashi… well, he'd never really seemed like the type to settle down that way, back when I knew him."_

"_What _was_ Dad like back then, Uncle Shiro?" Izuku found himself asking, finding his old curiosity all the stronger for the fact that he had pretty much uncontested access to someone who'd known Dad so well during the early days._

_Someone with a different perspective on the kind of person Dad had been, back then…_

_The sound of Uncle Shiro laughing softly brought Izuku's attention firmly back to the conversation that he'd been hoping to have with his paternal uncle; or at least the echo of him that'd stayed inside One For All. Izuku still found himself wondering how that kind of thing had even been possible, whenever he found himself with the kind of free time he needed when he was thinking deeply about one Quirk or another…_

_~MHA~_

When they'd all met up outside the main U.A. building, gathered before a large pair of busses that reminded him more than a little of the one that had taken him and the rest of class 1-A to the U.S.J. for their Rescue Training, Izuku found that the mental image of the fiery figure he'd glimpsed deep in the recesses of One For All was still stuck in the back of his mind. Uncle Shiro had told him that that was the imprint that Uncle Toshi had left when _he'd_ taken up the Quirk, and that the imprint wouldn't take on Uncle Toshi's full characteristics until…

Well, until Uncle Toshi died, but Izuku didn't really like thinking about that kind of thing.

Turning his attention back to what they were all _actually_ here for, Izuku found himself both missing Tenko-nii's presence, and wondering how his brother was doing, considering the investigation he was taking part in. Well, he actually, honestly _missed_ Tenko-nii up until Ochako-san ran over to him, all excited about the training camp they were all going to be heading off to. Tenko-nii would have teased him _mercilessly_ if he'd been there to see how close Ochako-san was standing to him, at least before she herself blushed and jumped practically to the other side of the lineup of their classmates.

She probably remembered Tenko-nii's teasing just as well as he did, really.

They'd been gathered together in the main parking lot of U.A., both since the side lot wouldn't be big enough for all of the people who were going to be gathering for this particular trip, and since they were going to be leaving the campus entirely to get to it.

"All right, everyone!" he called, clapping to make _absolutely_ sure he'd gotten the attention of every last one of his classmates. "Line up in seating order, so we can all start getting on the bus!"

Considering the fact that both class 1-A _and_ 1-B were going to be traveling to this training camp together, Izuku was more than a little relieved not to have Monoma pouncing on him the way he always tended to do when both of their respective classes were gathered together. When he looked over at the bus that class 1-B was boarding, however, he caught sight of Monoma, struggling against the firm grip that Kendo-san had on his collar and his belt. Biting down on the laughter that would have otherwise have escaped from him, the kind of laughter that always seemed to want to escape in inappropriate situations.

Still, it was at least nice not to have to deal with Monoma pouncing on him again.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he and Niseko-chan crossed paths with Eri in the corridors of their current base, Chisaki reached down to take Niseko-chan's left wrist in a firm grip. The sound of Niseko-chan's soft voice brought a brief smile to Chisaki's face, but what the child was _saying_, combined with who he was saying it _to_…

When Niseko-chan reached out for Eri, _removing the glove on his right hand_ when he did so, Overhaul sharply yanked the child's left arm, dragging the soft, pure, naïve child away from the situation that his foolish kindness had nearly gotten him into. He would need to see to it that the boy learned not to act so impulsively in the future. Removing the child to his office, Overhaul called Irinaka over to him. Watching calmly as Irinaka firmly contained the child within the wall the three of them were standing in front of, Overhaul turned to his subordinate.

"He won't be able to damage himself in that position, will he?"

"Nah, I made sure he couldn't move in there," Irinaka said calmly, gesturing to the wall where only the child's hands could be seen, clasped firmly within the cement of the wall; only the glove on his left hand remained in place.

Narrowing his eyes, Overhaul stepped forward to replace the boy's right glove, taking care to note the panicked breathing that remained audible through the air hole that Irinaka had provided for him, though the size _was_ at least restricted enough for the boy to learn the lesson that Overhaul intended to teach. Once the boy's hands had stopped thrashing and spasming, opening and closing convulsively in the throes of his panic, Chisaki gently took Niseko-chan's right hand.

Signaling for Irinaka to let Niseko-chan out of the wall where he'd been contained, Chisaki helped the boy back down to the floor of his office.

"You need to learn to stop disobeying me, Niseko," he said, gently wiping away the tears that had gathered in Niseko-chan's eyes while he was being scolded.

Hopefully, neither of them would need to repeat this lesson a second time.

_~MHA~_

Looking out the window by his seat, Izuku found himself wondering again how Dad and the others were doing. Tracking down that Villain group was clearly going to take some time, but-

"Midoriya-kun!"

"Huh? Wha? Iida-kun?"

"Midoriya-kun, I know you're concerned about something, but you can't allow whatever it is to distract you," Iida-kun said, a disapproving look on his face. "There are people on this bus that are acting out, and as Class Rep it's your duty to restore order."

Once he'd gotten rest of their class to at least keep their antics to a dull roar, Izuku found himself more than a little surprised, when the bus class 1-A were all riding in came to a neat stop at a bend in the road. He wouldn't have been so surprised if there was anything at all on the curve of the road where they were parked, but there was only the bare dirt of the roadside, a low guardrail that looked more than a little like some kind of rustic fence, and a large, hilly forest at the bottom of what was clearly a steep slope.

All in all, it didn't look like _any_ kind of rest stop he'd seen before.

However, the sight of another car, parked just close enough to the bus they'd been brought to this place in, brought up some other thoughts of what might be going on. As Aizawa-sensei rode herd on the class as a whole, Izuku found his attention drawn to the three people climbing out of the car; more specifically, to the pair of women – clearly Pro Heroes, considering their costumes and the Support gear they were both wearing – who'd climbed out of the car. The blonde, dressed as she was a blue-shaded outfit that had more than a passing resemblance to Bambaa-chan, was familiar to him from both his own Hero studies as well as a few of the stories that he'd heard from Dad.

Pixie-bob of the Wild, Wild Pussycats was apparently one of the most _determined_ flirts that Dad had ever met, in or out of his Hero identity.

It probably had something to do with how old she was-

"Hey! _That_ has _nothing_ to do with how I feel about Sensei! Besides, what do _you_ even know about him? Sensei is the best man I've ever met! We'd be just _perfect _for each other!" Pixie-bob exclaimed, slamming into him with enough force to nearly knock him over; he reflected that Kacchan was probably right when he said that Izuku tended to get too lost in his own head when he was thinking about one thing or another.

"I'm sorry," he said, though his voice was muffled by the glove that Pixie-bob was wearing. "I didn't mean to upset you," he continued. Looking around for something that might be able to distract her from how annoyed she currently was with him, Izuku's eyes caught on another, smaller form standing next to Mandalay. "Hey, who's that kid?"

"That's my nephew," Mandalay said, smiling as she made her way over; Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as Pixie-bob finally let go of his face. "Come here and say hi, Kota!"

_Kota?_ Izuku mused, a bit surprised to hear a name so similar to Uncle Kotaru's when he was so far from home. The little boy, who was wearing a bright red hat that had a pair of tiny yellow horns, also had one of the toys that had been modeled on the staff that Dad used in his guise as Sensei. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think about that kind of thing.

None of them really did, since about half a minute later they were all being unceremoniously swept over the edge of the slope and down into the woods; apparently, someone with a sense of humor had named the woods they were all about to fall into The Beasts Forest; though he didn't quite know if it was possessive or plural, or- Forcing those irrelevant thoughts out of his mind, even as he yanked off his shirt, calling up both Hayato's Quirk and Gravity Nullification, Izuku felt his wings taking shape faster than they'd ever done before.

Swooping around, ducking under the falling dirt and rocks that had pushed him, Kacchan, and the rest of class 1-A over the edge and off the slope, Izuku circled over his classmates as they all fell toward the ground. Sure, all of them would probably be able to land on their feet even if he _didn't_ help them with that, but all of them were training to be Heroes. And helping people in danger was something a Hero should do without thinking.

Helping had to be instinctive, before anyone could really call themselves a Hero.

Forming half of a shield-bubble in the air, with the aid of a Barrier Quirk that Dad had given him after he and Kacchan had made a habit of racing each other through the woods near their summer home, Izuku protected all of them from from the falling debris that Pixie-bob had used to sweep their entire class off of the slope; out of the corner of his right eye, Izuku could see Ashido-san looking at him, and for a moment he wondered why that was.

_~MHA~_

Maneuvering himself in the air, so that he'd land on his feet when Izuku let them all down, Katsuki chuckled softly. That was one thing the nerd had in common with All Might: the both of them would always dive in to save people as soon as they saw anyone in danger. Once they were all back on solid ground, Katsuki rolled his eyes as he watched the pervert grape go running into the forest, yelling about how he had to piss.

The ground rumbled, drawing their attention to something under the shade of the trees; something big, ugly, and seemingly made out of some weird, rough, rocky stuff. Before he had much time to wonder just what in the hell was even going on, the nerd landed next to him and the pair of them turned their attention toward each other.

"There seems to be a lot of movement in the forest," Izuku said, narrowing his eyes – and probably activating one of the Quirks that Uncle Sashi had given him – and looking out into the woods where they were all standing.

"Are they alive?" he asked, wanting to know just how much force he would be able to use on these creatures.

"I'm not seeing any heat," Izuku said, eyes narrowing slightly, and flickering red as he used an infrared-vision Quirk. "I don't know if they're not alive, or if they're lizards or something."

"_That_ helps," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Before he could say anything else, though, Katsuki noticed that Raccoon Eyes was coming over to the pair of them, with the sort of look on her face that suggested she'd just realized something; something she'd clearly been thinking about for some time.

"I _thought_ I recognized those wings! You _were_ the little boy who got lost looking for your dad with that huge guy!" Raccoon Eyes exclaimed, jumping up and down in that way she did when she was _really_ excited.

"Oh yeah," the nerd said, grinning widely as he turned his attention her, in turn. "I _did_ kind of wonder if there was someone else with those horns! Though, you _are_ a lot more pink than I remember you being."

Raccoon Eyes actually _laughed_, when Izuku said that, and even though he knew that they probably shouldn't be getting into this kind of a discussion when there was something _hunting_ _them_ from the woods, he found it more than a little interesting, himself. Of course, if anything _big_ started happening, he'd be ready.

"Yeah," Raccoon Eyes said, grinning widely, even as she regained at least _some_ of her composure. "My acid got stronger and stronger as I grew up, and my skin just kept turning pinker and pinker!"

Narrowing his eyes as he caught sight of _something_ moving around in the woods, Katsuki made his way up to where the nerd was standing.

"All right, nerd," he said, grabbing Izuku by the collar and belt and _hurling_ him into the air. "More of those bastards are coming; we need eyes in the sky!"

_~MHA~_

Flexing his hands in lieu of scratching his neck, knowing both that revealing his skin condition would make it obvious that _he_ was the one watching over the Yakuza hideout that Nighteye had discovered, and also that Auntie would scold him for hurting himself the way he would always end up doing when he would start scratching, Tenko tried to sit still. He'd never quite seemed to be able to stop himself, once he'd started scratching, leaving himself bleeding and in need of Sensei to make sure he didn't actually begin scarring. Focusing his attention back on the Yakuza stronghold again, Tenko narrowed his eyes as he leaned on the table.

Standing up from the table he'd been seated at up to that point, Tenko sighed in relief as he checked the time on his phone one more time and found that his shift was _finally_ over.

Making his way back to Sir Nighteye's agency, Tenko allowed himself to relax as he stepped through the doors and found Uncle Toshi looking over a table of papers. His and Izuku's uncle wasn't actually in his Hero form, instead sitting at the table in the suit that he wore when he was doing his social work.

"Hey, Uncle Toshi," he said, making his way over to the table where the blond was sitting. "What's with all those files you have out?"

"These are some of the people that Sir has spotted working for the Yakuza," Uncle Toshi said, sighing as he gathered up one of the files on the table. "I wish I could've done more for these people, too."

"Yeah," Tenko muttered, settling down at the table next to his uncle.

It was one of the things he didn't quite approve of about Uncle Toshi: the way his and Izuku's uncle seemed to think it was his job to save _everyone_ in the world – or at least in Japan – and he and Sensei were trying to, if not curtail the urge _entirely_, then at least tone it down enough that Uncle Toshi wouldn't get himself killed doing something dumb and altruistic. It wasn't like that kind of thing was unknown, of course, since Sensei had told him that there were a couple holders of One For All who'd ended up getting into that kind of trouble, themselves.

In that light, he and Sensei were both working to save Uncle Toshi from _himself_.

_~MHA~_

Breaths heaving as he staggered through the woods, hands numb and arms aching from how fucking many times he'd had to explode his way through those fucking animated dirt clods that that annoying hairball of a Pro had sicced on their class, Katsuki looked back as he heard – and _felt_ – the subdued thunder of Uncle Sashi's personal bodyguard pacing them as they all made their way out from under the canopy of the woods they'd been making their way through.

"All right, you can hand him over to me now, Gigan" he said, making his way over to the huge man – he and Izuku had sometimes speculated about whether or not Gigantomachia had more than one Quirk, considering the nature of Uncle Sashi's Quirk and what he could do with it – who'd been carrying Izuku ever since the little nerd had shuffled his Quirk load-out too many times and ended up knocking himself out for the umpteenth time.

Gigantomachia came lumbering over to where he was standing, crouching down so he could hand Izuku's still sleeping form over to him, with a look on his face that let Katsuki know that he was probably going to end up being annoyed by whatever it was that Uncle Sashi's bodyguard was going to say to him.

"I'm glad to see that the Little Lord has such a dedicated retainer."

Rolling his eyes, knowing that it wouldn't do any good for him to tell the giant man _again _that he wasn't the little nerd's retainer – really, the man seemed to think he was living in some kind of old Samurai drama, and that Uncle Sashi was his Lord or something – Katsuki made his way over to where the two old ladies who'd invited their class to this weird mountain hideout in the first place. The blonde wearing the blue costume with the name he hadn't paid much attention to, who Uncle Sashi seemed to be more than a little annoyed by when he talked about her, scampered over to where he and some of his other classmates – Legs, Icyhot, and Hedgehog – were all standing together.

He only hoped that she wasn't going to do anything stupid while he was still holding Izuku, since it wasn't like he'd be able to _do_ much with the nerd in his arms.

"Looks like _one_ of our kittens didn't make it out of his fight all right," she said, a goopy smile on her face as she looked down at Izuku.

"Come on," the other cat woman said, making her way over to where he was standing. "Let's get him inside, so he can wake up on his own."

"Right," he said, nodding as he followed the woman into the place they were operating out of.

The cat theme they had going reminded him more than a little of sis; he hoped she was doing all right.

_~MHA~_

"All right," the woman who'd offered to help her get at least _some_ grounding in being a pilot – at least with regards to flying a rescue helicopter, anyway – said, turning to smile over at her. "I'm going to be setting us down, so make sure you pay good attention to everything I'm doing, kitten."

_/I will,/_ she said, purring as the Pro Hero she was sitting next to turned back to the helicopter's controls. _/Thanks, miss Lynx./_

The fifth member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats grinned, bumping against her left shoulder before she started to bring the helicopter they were both in down to a neat landing at the back of what seemed to be a large compound in the mountains. As she made her way out of the helicopter, Bombalurina found herself more than a bit amused at the whole cat theme they had going on. Someone was bound to make some joke or other about her fitting in right there, but what she was most interested in was the fact that this place – tucked neatly away in the mountains as it was – was basically the perfect dark site.

Well, it would be once the sun actually set, at least.

The sound of running feet, as well as the sight of something fast approaching from the compound she was standing in front of, prompted Bombalurina to nearly _whip_ her head down from where she'd been looking at the sky.

"Wow! He really _wasn't_ kidding!" the blonde woman in the blue outfit, the one with the funny looking blue spots on her cheeks, said with a happy sort of smile on her face. "You really _are_ the cutest little kitten!"

_/You're crushing my whiskers,/_ she said, ears folding back against her head in annoyance.

It wasn't like she hadn't been prepared for this kind of thing, since there'd been more than a few people who'd reacted in the same way this woman was doing – _both_ before and after she'd been taken in by Mama, Papa and the rest of their family – but it'd never quite stopped being annoying.

"Now, now, Pixie-bob," Lynx said, making her way over to where the both of them were standing. "I don't think _you_ would enjoy someone doing that kind of thing to you, so you really shouldn't be doing it to other people," Lynx continued, folding her large, strong-looking arms as she all but _loomed_ over the shorter woman she was talking to. "You should also apologize to Midoriya-chan, since that isn't the kind of thing we do to guests."

_Well, at least one of them has some manners,_ Bombalurina reflected, though she knew enough not to actually _say_ those kinds of things.

Once she'd gotten herself settled in, finding out over lunch that Izuku and the rest of his class – along with Monoma and _his_ class, though she didn't really know anyone other than Monoma himself, and _that_ was only because he seemed bound and determined to insert himself into Izuku's life – were on their way to the compound, and would be there sometime. No one had quite seemed to know when all of them would actually _get_ there, since they were apparently running some sort of obstacle course in the surrounding forest.

Or, at least Izuku's class was; she didn't quite know what was going on with Monoma and _his_ class, other than the fact that they were all going to be meeting up at this compound some indeterminate time in the future. Still, for the moment Bombalurina was more interested to know if anyone here was interested in astronomy, and if so where they kept the telescope or telescopes – or perhaps binoculars, though she didn't know how well those actually _worked_ for stargazing – anyone actually serious about the pursuit would need. Or, if they weren't, she would have to wait for Izuku to arrive with the rest of his and Katsuki's class.

Izuku would at least be able to use Warp Gate to let her get her telescope from home.


	21. Team Training

Making his way into the toy shop, looking for the section that held the plush toys that Niseko-chan was clearly so fond of, Shin found himself once again reflecting upon how off it was, to be outside of the Hassaikai compound. He was without his mask and hat, in order to better blend in with those outside of the Hassaikai – those who couldn't understand what it meant to _be_ Hassaikai – seeking out the plush toys so that he could bring one back to Niseko-chan.

He'd been informed that Overhaul had been forced to scold Niseko-chan for his foolishness, and so Shin expected that Niseko-chan would want the comfort that one of the plush penguins that the store he was browsing provided.

Making his way into the section that had been dedicated to the plush animals that children such as Niseko-chan would naturally enjoy, Shin found his gaze almost immediately settling upon a rather adorable pair of plushes, in the form of an Emperor Penguin standing over a small, fluffy gray chick. Truly, the pair seemed _made_ to perfectly embody the relationship that Overhaul wished to establish with Niseko-chan. There were few things that could have better help Niseko-chan to understand how Overhaul wished for the pair of them to interact.

Such a relationship would naturally take some time to form, but seeing a concrete representation placed before him would likely help the child to settle into the place that Overhaul had been preparing for him within the Shie Hassaikai.

Once he'd picked up the pair, Shin caught sight of another man, making his way over to where the plushes he had been looking at were all stored.

"Good afternoon," the man – tall and rather thin, with green hair and spectacles – said, making his way over to where Shin was standing, seeming interested in both the pile of animal plushes, as well as Shin himself.

It _was_ something of a relief, seeing someone else who had not been taken in by the adulation of those who had embraced their particular strain of disease to the point where it had become a part of their very identity.

"Good afternoon," he said, offering a smile; for the moment, while he stood outside the walls of the compound, Shin Nemoto was not acting as a part of the Shie Hassaikai. "Have you come to pick out a gift for one of your children, as well?"

"Indeed," the man said, removing a phone from his right pocket. "He's actually a child of one of my friends."

"Ah," Shin said, looking down at the image on the screen.

The child displayed was far too young to have been tainted by the disease that Overhaul wished to eradicate – barely out of toddlerhood, and dressed in a onesie that gave him the appearance of being a small, green rabbit – and Shin found himself hoping that the boy would have the chance to grow up in a world that had been cleansed by Overhaul and his efforts.

"He seems to be doing well," Shin commented, finding himself slightly surprised to find the man's hand on his left shoulder.

"He is," the man said. "Though I was hoping to return with a gift for him."

"I suppose I don't have to ask after his favorite animal," Shin said, feeling slightly amused.

"Indeed," the man said, shifting his spectacles slightly. "Thank you for indulging my curiosity."

"Of course," Shin said, turning to pay for his purchase.

The pair of them parted ways after that, and Shin made his way back to the compound where Niseko-chan was waiting for him.

_~MHA~_

A long moment of concentration revealed the future of the nameless man Nighteye had been speaking to; allowing him to observe the man as he descended into the depths of the building that he and his team had been keeping watch over ever since they had received word from Stendhal that Niseko Sezu and a young girl named Eri had both been taken captive by Kai Chisaki and the Shie Hassaikai. Having watched as the man descended into the hidden depths of the Hassaikai's compound, activating a concealed switch so that he could make his way into a deeper, seemingly subterranean area of the compound, Nighteye found himself watching as the man he had been speaking to handed the plush penguin he had previously purchased over to Niseko Sezu.

It seemed as though they had indeed managed to find one of the children who had been taken by the Shie Hassaikai.

It also seemed as though Niseko Sezu was working to resist some kind of emotional manipulation, given both the way he had reacted to the man handing him the plush toy, as well as the way Chisaki appeared to have dressed him. It _was_ rather unsettling, seeing how Chisaki appeared to be attempting to make Niseko Sezu over in his own image, giving him a black cloth mask and the same kind of white gloves that he himself wore. It would, therefore, be best that he and his rescued him as soon as possible.

Returning to his agency once more, Sir Nighteye found Toya Setsuno – a man who had been saved from either a great deal of debt or else some kind of heartbreak – chivvying Toshinori off to sleep.

"Thank you for looking after him, Setsuno," he said, as the pair of them passed each other by.

"Yeah," Setsuno said, laughing softly. "Well, _someone_ has to do it, since Toshi there isn't good at looking after himself."

Such a fact, sadly enough, could easily go without saying.

_~MHA~_

Waking up _entirely_ too early the next morning, Izuku found himself and the rest of class 1-A gathered together in front of Aizawa-sensei so that they could all see how their Quirks had improved in both their strength and their utility since the beginning of the year. Naturally, Kacchan was the first one chosen to demonstrate the growth of his own Quirk, but it seemed that most of his growth had been in utility rather than straight power; naturally, Kacchan made a joke about needing to improve his pitching form.

All in all, it was a rather interesting development.

"We're going to be pushing each and every one of your Quirks to their absolute limits and beyond, this week. Our aim is to prepare you to defend yourselves, in the event that any of you find yourselves caught up in what seems to be an escalating situation, you'll have a better chance at defending yourselves," Aizawa-sensei said, then he started grinning in that unsettling way he always did when he was determined to push someone beyond their self-imposed limits. "You're all going to feel like you're dying," he grinned wider. "Let's hope you all survive."

Biting back the laughter that would have been _entirely_ inappropriate under the circumstances, Izuku found himself wondering just how _he_ was going to be using his Quirks in this week-long training camp; his own Quirk didn't really _have_ any kind of physical effects, at least not in the way any of his classmates' did. Really, the only way he could _physically_ use his _own_ Quirk was when he absorbed and digested someone else's Quirk. It was one of the reasons that Monoma had latched onto him so quickly, the similarities between their respective Quirks had drawn them together.

Even though Monoma was still more than a little strange, and he still didn't seem to like any of Izuku's own classmates in 1-A, either.

Thoughts of Monoma naturally brought up some curiosity about where the rest of class 1-B was, as well; and also if _they'd_ ended up being attacked by the other two members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats. He also found himself wondering about the fifth member of their team. Uncle Toshi had told him about the woman he'd helped to take a trip to Thailand, the one who'd met up with Tiger while she was staying there, and the pair of them had apparently formed enough of a connection that she'd ended up joining up with the Pussycats as a fifth member.

Given the way that he'd talked about her acting around him, it also seemed like the woman – someone by the name of Masami Hikiishi – had something of a crush on Uncle Toshi, though he didn't really seem to know about it; it was kind of funny, when Izuku found himself thinking about it.

_~MHA~_

Rubbing his eyes as he found himself forced to wake up earlier than anyone normal would have _ever_ wanted to be doing, Neito sighed and rubbed his eyes as he heard Kan-sensei talking about how class 1-B was going to have to work all the harder to put themselves over class 1-A. They'd been the ones to get a chance to work with the Symbol of Hope, to say nothing of the way that they were being taught by the Symbol of Peace himself. _That_ was something that everyone in U.A. could say, after all.

_Well, at least those of us in the Hero Course,_ he reflected, thinking back on his meeting with Izuku's sister, and that Shinsou guy from class 1-C; Shinsou _did_ seem to want to be a Hero himself, which explained his drive for training and how hard he'd driven himself during the Sports Festival.

As they all continued on their way through the woods, Neito began to hear the sounds of those arrogant bastards in class 1-A – and Izuku, of course, but Neito would tell anyone who asked that Izuku was basically an honorary member of class 1-B already – working out their Quirks and trying to make them stronger so that they could take even _more_ attention away from class 1-B. All except Izuku, since he'd just be looking to help as many people as he could with all of those Quirks he'd collected. It was a lot like what Neito wished he could do, but his Quirk didn't really work like that.

Izuku, on the other hand, was a good enough guy to work with him, so that the _both_ of them could make good use of all those Quirks he'd managed to stock up on.

_~MHA~_

Narrowing his eyes as he stared down the balance-beam he was standing in front of – the one that Aizawa-sensei had had set up to help him gain better control over his movements while he was using the Quirk he'd copied from Bambaa-chan, at least when he was running – Izuku found himself shuddering involuntarily when he glanced down into the long pool of water that'd been set up beneath the balance beam. It'd clearly been meant to motivate him, and he was certain that the idea of using _water_ had come from Aizawa-sensei, too. Water, specifically _cold_ water, would be just the kind of thing that would fit with Aizawa-sensei's teaching-style.

Stopping to remove his shoes, knowing that they'd have fallen right off if he tried to run in them after his feet had transitioned from human-style plantigrade to Bambaa-chan's digitigrade feet, Izuku quickly set them aside and called up Bambaa-chan's stored Quirk. His body shifted into the more catlike shape that his sister had lived with for all of her life, and Izuku found himself shifting uncomfortably as his clothes pressed up against his new fur. Rearranging his pants so that he could let his new tail out, Izuku climbed up onto the platform where the balance beam started.

Glancing down into the water, Izuku shuddered for a last time as he crouched down and set off.

_~MHA~_

Looking down at the reports that he'd just been given, Chisaki narrowed his eyes; there was little chance, under the present circumstances, that the Shie Hassaikai would be able to remain within the outpost where they had settled for the work that they were currently undertaking. It seemed that those who had embraced their disease to the point where they had made it a part of their very _identity_ had indeed managed to gain information as to precisely where they were. He and his, therefore, would need not only to evacuate this place, but also to find a way to _cover_ their escape while they made it. In a sense, it was fortunate that he'd not yet decided to dispose of those creatures he'd been studying in the wake of his purge of Rosaru.

It would be the only _truly_ worthwhile thing such unfortunate creatures would be capable of doing.

Still, for the moment the preparations for their escape would need to take precedence; the creatures in the tanks could only be released once they were finalized.

_~MHA~_

Rubbing his arms, feeling as though he'd spent the last _fuck_ knows how many hours having his arms smacked around with a goddamned _sledgehammer_, Katsuki wiped his hands off on his pants and stretched his back. He'd seen the nerd a few times, running around on those beams that'd been set up for him to work on stopping when he was using sis' Quirk to run as fast as he could. He'd also seen the nerd fall into the water more than a few times; it'd actually felt _more_ difficult, keeping himself from laughing, those times when the nerd would jump out of the water with his tail all puffed up.

Of course, there were those times when the nerd would cheat, suppressing sis' Quirk before he could fall into the water and soak all of his fur; that was kind of funny, too.

Still, after all the shit he'd been putting himself through, it was at least nice to know that he was going to be able to rest for what was left of the day. Joining up with the rest of his classmates, Katsuki didn't bother to stop himself from snickering as he passed by the nerd on their way back into the compound where they were all going to be staying for the rest of the week.

"Enjoy your bath, nerd?" he drawled, grinning as Zuzu turned an annoyed expression on him, swiping half-heartedly at him as the pair of them passed each other by.

"Funny, Kacchan."

Grinning, Katsuki continued on his way into the compound. He'd found out that sis was staying with them, getting some other kind of lessons from the last of the Pussycats. He hadn't asked about that kind of thing, but he knew that Zuzu would have been all over that kind of thing. Not just because he and sis lived together, but because the both of them seemed to have taken more than a little interest in what the other was doing. It was kind of funny, how the nerd seemed to want to cram his head full of everything that had to do with _anything_, not just what he'd need to know to be the next Number One Hero.

Or maybe that was just because he and sis had lived together for so long, sharing their interests and that kind of thing.

The old lady with the Earthflow Quirk and the blue outfit – the one who'd been panting after Uncle Sashi's Hero identity ever since she'd met him the first time, which was going to be more than a little funny, if Uncle Sashi ever ended up unmasking himself and people found out how long he'd been married to Auntie – had already told them that they'd be making their own dinner today, so Katsuki figured he'd get on it. Still, the thought of food brought up the uncomfortable thought of when he'd made curry for sis. It'd turned out that her Quirk didn't let her eat anything with capsaicin in it, not without getting really sick, anyway.

Capsaicin was apparently what made spicy food spicy, he'd learned at least that much once that'd happened.

_~MHA~_

Looking up into the sky as the sun began setting, Bombalurina heard the familiar, heavy steps of Tiger as the man made his way over to where she was standing.

"We managed to get in contact with your father," he said, carrying over the case that held her twelve inch refractor, grinning as he hefted it one-handed. "He said that this would be the best one for you to use in a place like this, since you didn't have him there to help you move your other one."

There was a curious expression on the man's painted face, so Bombalurina decided that she would indulge him.

_/I have a Maksutov-Cassegrain back at home, but that kind of telescope is too heavy for me to lift on my own,/_ she said, purring softly as Tiger handed the case over to her. _/It's also a pretty serious instrument, so it has to be handled delicately. So no jokes about using it as a free weight; I've already heard them all from Papa./_

Tiger laughed, in that same kind of way that Bombalurina had sometimes found herself wishing she could, when she was spending time around her friends and family. She remembered the way Papa had offered to take her birth Quirk from her, if it ever became too much of a burden for her to live with, but she didn't quite know if she was willing to do something _that_ drastic. Even if Papa _had_ said that he'd be doing everything he could to help her get used to living in the new body she'd be dealing with if she ever decided to take him up on his offer.

Papa's doctor, a man by the name of Daruma Ujiko, seemed a lot more interested in that kind of thing than she was, really.

Tiger offered to take her up into the mountains so that she would be able to find a good spot to put her telescope while she made her observations, and as the pair of them made their way out of the compound and up into the mountains, Bombalurina began hearing the sounds of someone else making their way through the underbrush. Glancing over her left shoulder, she caught sight of one of the other Pussycats, making what seemed to be her rounds of the compound.

_~MHA~_

Hearing what sounded like a scuffle, down in the baths where all of the Hero students from U.A. were sitting, Kota took his toy staff – the same kind of staff that he'd seen in Sensei's hands, when the Symbol of Hope had stepped through that portal and healed Mama and Papa – away from where he'd had it leaning against the wall. He was just about to call down, demanding to know just what was going on down there, when he caught sight of the short kid with the purple grape hair, struggling as he tried to climb up the boys' side of the wall.

"If you're learning how to be a Hero, you should be a good _human_, first," he snapped, slapping the stupid boy's right hand down just as he'd started raising it.

Hearing the cheerful shouts of the girls in their side of the baths, Kota made the mistake of looking over at them… Not one of them seemed to be wearing their towels, and as he found himself blushing, Kota tried to think of how Sensei would handle this kind of thing. He worked as a doctor, after all, so he'd probably had to deal with this kind of thing a lot. Straightening up, and picking up the copy of Sensei's staff that he'd asked Mama to buy as soon as they'd all been able to go back home, Kota stood his ground in the way he was sure that Sensei would always do when _he_ was called on to help people.

The only thing that he wasn't quite sure how to deal with was the blush that stubbornly remained on his face; of course, Sensei _was_ a lot older than him, so that probably meant he was a lot more used to dealing with girls.


	22. Festering Hatred

Making his way into little Sezu's room once again, after having delivered the pair of penguin plushes that he'd purchased for the boy, Shin Nemoto reached down to gently ruffle the child's hair.

"Nemoto-san," little Sezu said, looking up at him with the worried expression that almost seemed to have taken up permanent residence on his face; Shin truly hoped that he and Chisaki would be able to alleviate the boy's worries, once he'd gotten used to his new home. "Is… Is something wrong?"

"Nothing you have to concern yourself with," Shin said, settling down on the bed where little Sezu spent most of his time.

Unscrewing the cap from the bottle of cough medicine that he'd brought in with him, to calm little Sezu down and allow him to sleep while they evacuated from this place. All of the Shie Hassaikai aimed to leave this place, before the full force of the government's hired muscle could come down on them.

"Here, drink this," he said, offering the cap, filled with the cough syrup that would put little Sezu to sleep.

Little Sezu glanced from him to the cap of medicine being offered to him, clearly uncertain as to what he was being asked to do, so Shin gathered the boy into his arms and poured the capful down his throat. A hand over little Sezu's mouth encouraged him to swallow the medicine, and Shin held little Sezu as the child slowly fell asleep. Standing, once little Sezu had fully succumbed to the drowsiness that the cough medicine induced, Shin made his way into the main corridor of the safehouse where the Hassaikai had stayed for such a long time.

Chisaki, his right hand wrapped firmly around the wrist of the cursed child who was unfortunately at the heart of the Hassaikai's entire operation, looked over at him, eyes flaring for a moment before they settled on the form of little Sezu sleeping in his arms.

"Thank you for taking care of him, Nemoto," Chisaki said, as the pair of them fell into step with each other for a moment, each of them on their way to their own separate destination.

"Of course," he said, bowing slightly as he and Chisaki separated once more.

Making his way down through the corridor to where the getaway vehicles were awaiting them, Shin climbed into a waiting car, adjusting little Sezu's slumbering form as he settled into the back seat of the waiting car. Reaching down, Shin gently stroked little Sezu's right cheek as the car he was in set off at last.

_~MHA~_

Looking over the rows of tanks, each of them with one of the creatures he had taken from the remains of the diseased Ward he'd been forced to burn, Chisaki narrowed his eyes as he placed his hand on the wall beside the pair of tanks at the head of the double-line. Calling upon the ability that had been granted to him, the one that he had named Overhaul for the capabilities that he had discovered through his experiments , Chisaki destroyed every one of the tanks in the room he stood within.

Each and every one of them had been finalized, so they would make the perfect smokescreen for him and the rest of the Hassaikai to escape under; it was, truly, the only purpose that such diseased wretches could expect to have in their lives.

They'd finally managed to assemble their full forces, with both Tsukauchi and Sir Nighteye working in tandem with so many other Pros to pin down the location that the Shie Hassaikai were operating out of, or at least the one where they were keeping Niseko Sezu and young Eri. All Might, of all people, knew that these kinds of people were far more apt to retreat into the shadows then to stand and fight. He could only hope that they would be able to rescue young Niseko and young Eri; hunting down the remainder of the Shie Hassaikai might very well have to wait.

It wasn't a possibility he enjoyed thinking about, and given the lingering tension in Hisashi's stance All Might could tell that his old friend felt just the same, but it was still something they had to consider; something like that had clearly happened before, after all.

_~MHA~_

Once they'd all gathered together, even as the sun was setting and Izuku was beginning to wonder just where Bambaa-chan had found to set up the small, portable telescope that she had to take with her for times like this, Izuku found his thoughts turning toward just what their next round of torture – or training, to hear Aizawa-sensei and three out of the five Pussycats describe it – was going to entail. When Pixie-bob began talking about some kind of "test of courage", splitting them up by class and then further dividing them into groups of two… Well, what _would_ have been groups of two, if there hadn't been five members of their class in remedial studies with Aizawa-sensei, Izuku wondered what they were _actually_ going to be doing.

He didn't think it was _really_ going to be as simple as what any of the Pussycats had said, particularly since Aizawa-sensei was involved with those whole thing to some greater or lesser degree; still, the question of what they were _really_ going to be doing remained.

_~MHA~_

"I'm getting scared, Tsu-chan. And those screams aren't helping," she said, as the pair of them made their way through the dark forest; and sure, while Ochako knew that they weren't in any real danger, she didn't really like the thought of people jumping out and screaming at her.

"That sounds like Jiro-chan and Hagakure-chan. Take my hand, Ochako-chan," Tsu-chan said, holding out her right hand, palm-up. "Don't be afraid. We'll help each other through this."

Ochako was just about to say something else, when she felt something cold and bluish-white splatter against the inside of her left arm, just above her elbow. "What the heck?"

Dodging out of the way of another splatter of what looked a lot like some kind of soap, Ochako swiped off some of the stuff with her fingertips and held it up to her nose. _Wait, this smells like _shaving foam_,_ she mused, blinking in surprise, even as she caught sight of Tsu-chan, moving forward like she was trying to intercept another of the globs of shaving foam that the both of them ended up dodging. The foam splattered against a nearby tree, and Ochako looked back down the trajectory to find…

Someone in a dark mask and hoodie, someone tall and a bit gangly-looking, coming out from under the deeper shadows under the trees.

"Hey," the man – it sounded like a man; he had a deep, kind of raspy sounding voice, but he also sounded a bit younger than she'd been expecting him to. "You know those nametags you were supposed to collect at the end of this trip?" the young man in the mask and hoodie said, sounding almost like he was grinning under the mask that concealed his identity – though there was something about his voice that Ochako thought she might be able to recognize from somewhere – as he took out a pair of tags from the right pocket at the front of his hoodie.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, feeling a grin beginning to tug at her own face, dodging out of the way of another shot of the shaving foam aimed her way by the man who'd showed up in the woods; Ochako could _swear_ she recognized his voice from somewhere, but now wasn't the time to think about that kind of thing.

She and Tsu-chan needed to get their nametags back, before they could leave the woods and meet up with their classmates and the Pussycats again; she really didn't want to know what new, inventive forms of remedial training Aizawa-sensei and the Pussycats would think up if she and Tsu-chan came back without those tags.

_~MHA~_

As he made his way up into the mountains, on the trail of the familiar scent that he had found when he'd been dispatched to when he'd gotten the call from Lynx of the Wild, Wild Pussycats and been asked to come out to this place as a test of the students that they were aiming to train, Shuuichi Iguchi found himself momentarily uncertain. Yes, he _was_ fully aware that his main focus should be on helping to test the students that he had been entrusted to Lynx and her teammates, but there was something else that he had to take care of first. Something that would only continue to haunt him, if he didn't take the chance that he was being presented with tonight.

Lynx had been kind enough to let him know just where the girl he was seeking was going to be, once he'd told her about the circumstances that had brought the pair of them together on that night; the night of fire that had changed society in so many ways.

Coming out from under the cover of the trees, Shuuichi paused for a moment to look up at the vast expanse of shimmering stars that were visible beyond the lights of the city. Adjusting the straps of the holster he'd been equipped with when he'd come out to this compound far outside the city – even beyond the suburbs, where he'd once thought to settle before he'd found that the pace of life in the city agreed with him far more – Shuuichi gathered his composure and set off once again. Not long after he'd begun, Shuuichi caught sight of a pair of small silhouettes, standing on either side of something he couldn't quite make out all that clearly.

Whatever it was, it seemed to be mounted on some kind of tripod, so that _did_ narrow down a lot of possibilities as to what _it_ might be.

Putting those thoughts out of his mind, Shuuichi made his way over to where the taller of them – thin and lanky, with a long tail and triangular ears atop her head – was standing, looking down at the child standing beside her for a moment, before the sound of his footfalls drew her attention and she turned her gaze to him. The sight of her reflective eyes – there was some kind of special name for the phenomenon, but he couldn't remember it off the top of his head – brought a slight smile to his face. It was a helpful reminder that there was more that bound the pair of them than tragedy, in the end.

Pausing for a moment to gather his composure once more, Shuuichi Iguchi stepped forward; tragedy might not have been _all_ that bound them, but it _was_ what had brought them together to begin with.

_/Hi,/_ the girl said, as he came up to where she and the child, most likely the boy that Lynx had described to him when he'd asked her where he'd b able to find Bombalurina-chan.

"Hello," he said, taking the time to sign out what he was saying; he'd learned JSL for two interlinked reasons, both of them having to do with the girl he was standing before tonight. "I've been wanting to tell you this ever since that night," Shuuichi said, bracing himself not to look away as Bombalurina-chan's catlike eyes locked with his. "I'm sorry," he said, making certain that he was forming the right words with his hands, even as he spoke aloud. "If I'd known how to understand you that night, maybe-"

_/Hey,/_ Bombalurina-chan said, reaching out to gently take his wrists in her hands. _/It's all right. Nothing that happened that night ever _should_ have happened, but it did,/_ Bombalurina-chan said, not breaking their shared gaze as she spoke, even as Shuuichi had to forced himself to do the same. _/It's in the past, so don't go blaming yourself for something you had no way of knowing about. Unless you have some kind of Foresight Quirk you're not telling anyone about, you couldn't have stopped the fires that night any more than I could./_

He sighed. "You're probably right about that," he said, continuing to sign so the both of them would be able to understand each other more completely. "But, if I'd actually been able to _understand_ you that night, your parents might have lived."

So might have a lot of other people, but he didn't want to burden her with _their_ lives as well; Shuuichi was more than willing to carry that weight on his own.

"Wait sis, you lost _your_ parents?" the little boy – who'd been there beside Bombalurina-chan ever since Shuuichi had made his way up the side of the mountain to speak to her – asked, tugging lightly on the skirt she was wearing.

_/Yeah. You might be a bit young to remember it, but I used to live in Rosaru, which was burned to the ground by some kind of Villain group six years ago. Papa took me in not long after that, though. So that was nice,/_ Bombalurina-chan said.

_~MHA~_

When he'd heard what big sis said, about her parents being killed by Villains, Kota couldn't help but remember the way his _own_ parents had nearly been killed by that Villain not so long ago. That was one of the many reasons that he was more a fan of Sensei than even All Might: Sensei had been the one to come and heal them, when they had been laid out in those two hospital beds after the attack by that Villain.

"I'm sorry, sis," he said, reaching out to hold her furry left hand. "I almost lost _my_ parents to a Villain, but Sensei helped to heal them," he couldn't help but say, feeling a little bad about the way _his_ parents had survived and hers hadn't.

_/That's good to hear,/_ big sis said, purring at him in a way that reminded him more than a bit of the kitty she looked like. _/I'm glad that he could help you and your family, at least./_

"Thanks, sis," he said, squeezing her hand to try to comfort her as best he could.

He really didn't know what else he _could_ say.

_~MHA~_

As their group of Pro Heroes and Police smashed their way into the compound where the Shie Hassaikai and their captives had been staying, All Might raised his fist and smashed through the walls standing before him. The lack of guards and soldiers made him uneasy, the sheer, echoing _emptiness_ of the compound they were making their way through… All Might forced those thoughts aside, knowing that it wouldn't help anyone if he let his mind wander when in battle. Still, he knew that Hisashi would be thinking about it, too.

The both of them would probably end up talking about it once this was all over, of course.

The sight of moving shapes up ahead actually brought him some _relief_, under the circumstances; finding himself bereft of enemies when he, his fellow Pros, battering their way into an all-but empty compound, was honestly the most unsettling thing he'd ever found himself doing. However, once the moving shapes in front of them had resolved into coherence as they all closed in, All Might nearly stopped in sheer shock as the figures – an all too familiar sight, considering the man he'd found himself facing that day in the Kiyashi Ward mall – came into focus and he found himself facing more of those poor people who had clearly been made into human weapons by the Shie Hassaikai.

He could hear Fatgum cursing beside him, the both of them having fallen into step since they were the ones best positioned to smash through whatever defenses that the Shie Hassaikai might have put in their path, and All Might found himself biting down on the urge to voice his _own_ discontent aloud. Still, the Symbol of Peace could hardly allow himself to be so badly affected by the activities of the Villains he found himself facing. And so, All Might gathered his composure, grinned all the wider, and pushed forward.

It served to motivate his fellow Pros, and it also served to settle his nerves as he pressed forward; both were equally important, of course.

_~MHA~_

Watching as some stupid lizard chatted with the catgirl, Muscular turned his attention to the kid. He'd been looking for the little brat ever since that white-coated bastard had stolen Water Hose out from under him, and now finding himself just a few _meters _from the little brat, Muscular grinned. He'd wait for the lizard to leave, but the catgirl was clearly going to be there for a while, and her fur looked really soft.

He'd make a point of tearing it off of her corpse once he snapped her scrawny neck.

Once the lizard had traipsed off back down the rocky cliff where he'd tracked down the Water Hose brat – and ended up finding a cute little catgirl to play with – Muscular grinned as he made his way up to the kids he'd found. The both of them were far enough away from those annoying Pro Heroes that ran the camp down at the base of the mountain he'd been scouting around that he wouldn't have any trouble from _them_. He'd have all the time he needed, to kill the Water Hose brat and snap the catgirl's neck so he could drag her off and tear that soft fur off her corpse.

The catgirl, with those big ears of hers, was of course the first one to spot him as he made his way up to where the both of them were standing, ears turning in his direction as he made his way over to where the both of them were standing.


	23. Echoes of Cruelty

The sight of a frankly _huge_ man making his way out onto the rocky plateau was slightly confusing, and more than a little unnerving, considering that she could plainly see that this guy – whoever he was – wasn't Tiger.

_/Nice night for a walk,/_ she said, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot if this guy _was_ just some lost hiker or something, but still feeling more than a little weird about the whole situation.

There were better places for a lost hiker to go, if they needed help getting down from the mountain…

"Big sis, we have to go!" Kota exclaimed, grabbing her left hand and pulling as hard as he could. "We have to get out of here! That's the Villain who almost killed my Mom and Dad!"

_/What, really?/_

Before Kota could say anything in response, the large man who'd come out to the plateau activated what seemed to be his Quirk, covering himself in a thick, meaty second skin of what actually seemed to be his own exposed musculature, grinning widely – in a distinctly _crazed_ sort of way – at the pair of them.

"I was _wondering_ if you'd recognize me, kid! Thanks for finding that cute little kitty for me!" the blond man – the _Villain_ currently attacking them - shouted, grinning all the wider.

_/Hold on, Kota!/_ she called, knowing both that she, personally, wouldn't be able to do much against this guy, and that there was indeed someone here who'd be better suited for the kind of fight. _/We're getting out of here!/_

Really, Papa wasn't the type to send people he cared about out into the world without making sure that they had at least _some_ kind of protection.

The excited laughter of whoever it was that was chasing them, as well as whatever it was that the man was actually _saying_, was quickly drowned out by the wind in her ears as Bombalurina dropped to all-fours, dodged past the oversized Villain as he made a grab for her, and pelted full-out back down the mountain. She had a brief moment of unease about leaving her telescope out on the plateau, but she was also fully aware that Papa would not only buy her a new one, but that he'd also be more than a little unhappy with her if she'd stayed back there with a Villain just to make sure that her stuff was okay.

"Where are we going, sis?" she could just hear Kota asking, over the roar of the night wind in her ears.

_/Back to the compound,/ _she said, finding herself purring in slight amusement; if that Villain thought _he _was the scariest thing she'd ever seen, he definitely had another thing coming.

"Do you really think Auntie and the other Pussycats will be able to beat him?" Kota asked, and Bombalurina could feel him shaking as he clung to her back.

_/Maybe not, but they're not the ones I'm looking for,/_ she said, dashing into the deeper shadows under the trees surrounding the compound.

"Then who _are_ you looking for, sis?"

_/Papa sent him to help train Izu-chan with his Quirks,/_ she said, turning her ears back as she began to hear the sounds of that Villain who'd attacked them smashing his way through the trees she'd been deliberately putting between the pair of them during the course of her escape. _/According to what Papa said, the man he sent works for him as a bodyguard./_

That still kind of confused her, sometimes, since with all the Quirks that Papa had told her he'd been collecting during all the time he'd been alive, she wouldn't have thought he'd need anything like a bodyguard. Still, when Papa sent him out to help Izu with training all of _his_ collected Quirks, it was with the understanding that she could call on him if she ended up in too much trouble for her to deal with on her own.

The sound of that Villain shouting, laughing and threatening to tear the fur from her twitching corpse – his words, the weirdo creep – drew Bombalurina's attention back to the man currently smashing his way through the trees on the most direct path toward her.

_/Why don't you talk louder?/_ she retorted, beginning to feel a familiar rumble through the ground, catching a well-remembered scent on the wind even as she did so. _/I don't think _everyone in camp_ quite heard you!/_

_~MHA~_

_/Gigan! Gigantomachia!/_

"Young Lady?" he muttered, standing up and beginning to make his way over to the forest.

He had seen the Young Lady making her way into the forest, alongside the child that seemed to live in this isolated place. He was pleased that his Lord, his Little Lord, and his Lord's Wife had found someone else to take into their hearts alongside the Young Lord who stood beside them, and so he had naturally extended his protection to her, and would have done so even _without_ the orders of his Lord. Catching sight of the Young Lady, sprinting through the darkness under the trees, Gigantomachia narrowed his eyes as he heard the large man chasing them shouting that he would kill the Young Lady and then _wear_ her flesh and fur as some kind of costume. Firmly smashing the charging man into the ground, he reached down to scoop the Young Lady up and set her and the boy gently upon his left shoulder.

_/Thanks, Gigan,/_ the Young Lady said, settling down with the child she had been carrying on her back.

"Young Lady," he said, reaching over to gently stroke her soft hair.

He knew that he would need to speak to Lord about what had happened this night, and also to make certain that there was nothing present that would threaten the Little Lord while Lord and the Young Lord were away.

_~MHA~_

The sound of rock outright _shattering_ drew his attention, and Izuku found his eyes almost inevitably drawn back toward the Pussycats' compound. The sight of Gigantomachia's tall form and wild hair – the only part of him that was even _mostly _visible over the tops and in between the gaps of the trees – brought the question of just what in the world was going on back to the forefront of his mind. Reaching inside himself, even as he turned to make his way back to the Pussycats' compound, Izuku pulled up his copy of Mental Voice from within the depths of his variant of All For One.

_/Mandalay,/_ he called, knowing that she would be the best person to answer his concerns, considering that out of all the people present, she was the only one who could answer his questions _without_ the need for him to slow down so that he could pull out his phone. _/Did you send Machia out for anything? I saw him just a bit ago; it looked like he was just leaving the Beast's Forest./_

_[Gigantomachia?]_ Mandalay's telepathy – something that had "sounded" different than his and Bambaa-chan's Mental Voice ever since he'd first experienced it, which was a strange thing to think about but no less true for all that – filled his mind as Izuku continued on his way back to the Pussycats' compound. _[No, I didn't send him out for anything.]_

_/That's strange,/_ he said, looking back up at the looming form of Dad's loyal bodyguard.

Gigantomachia was lumbering his way through the forest, though where he'd once seemed to be heading back to the Pussycats' compound he now seemed to be searching for someone in the forest itself.

_/Machia, what're you looking for?/_ he asked, calling out with Mental Voice to spare himself the strain of trying to shout over the distance that still separated the pair of them. _/I thought Dad sent you to help train us while we were here. Did something happen?/_

"Little Lord," the deep rumble of Gigantomachia's voice carried over, even as Izuku began to feel the subdued thunder of the huge man's footfalls making their way over to him. "The Young Lady was just attacked, so I'm taking her back to her room. Have _you_ seen anyone who doesn't belong here, Little Lord?"

_/No, I haven't,/_ he said, pulling up both an enhancer Quirk and a night-vision Quirk from his own stockpile, so that he wouldn't end up being vulnerable to anyone sneaking around in the dark forest.

For a long moment, Izuku wondered if he should contact Dad, and tell him what had nearly happened to Bambaa-chan. Still, Dad was working with Uncle Toshi, Uncle Mirai, and a bunch of other Pro Heroes to defeat that Villain group that he'd only told him and Mom about just before they'd all left for the training camp. Dad _had_ tried to be as reassuring as he could, of course, but Izuku still found himself more than a bit unsettled by the whole situation. If only because of all the tension he'd been feeling ever since he'd noticed that Uncle Toshi had been working on something.

Something that had turned out to be a raid on a Villain group, of all things.

Still, Gigantomachia _was_ bound to report what had happened to Dad, at least as soon as the pair of them were able to meet up with each other again, so he didn't have to worry so much about that kind of thing. But really, knowing that someone had attacked Bambaa-chan in a place where all of them were supposed to be _safe_… He couldn't help being unsettled by the whole thing.

_~MHA~_

Looking down, as the pair of them came within sight of another one of their classmates, Itsuka pressed the knuckles of her right hand against her mouth as Tetsutetsu started snickering again. The sight of Monoma with _a monocle and a curly mustache_ scribbled on his face _was_ kind of funny, but the fact that there was someone with what seemed to be some kind of sleeping gas Quirk running around in the forest pranking everyone – or at least everyone in this area – was kind of weird. She didn't know just who it was, or why they were even here; none of her fellow classmates in 1-B had a Quirk like that, and she hadn't heard either Monoma _or_ Midoriya talking about anyone in class 1-A who had that kind of a Quirk.

"Come on, let's find out who's doing this," she said, getting Tetsutetsu moving so that the pair of them wouldn't end up getting caught up by the sleeping gas. "The only people who seem to be having trouble are the ones in this area. And besides, I'm sure Mandalay would have warned us if there was some kind of Villain attacking us."

"Yeah," Tetsutetsu said, chuckling. "This must be part of the test, too. Still, I wanna shake his hand for taking Monoma down a peg."

Shaking her head as the pair of them continued on through the forest, the sleeping gas starting to become _visibly_ thicker as they continued on their way through the darkness under the trees, Itsuka finally began to catch sight of what seemed to be the one responsible for the sleeping gas in the forest around them. It seemed to be someone about their age, or at least someone about the same _height_ as her and Tetsutetsu, and the fact that he was standing at the center of a swirling tornado of what seemed to be that same kind of sleeping gas as they'd been dealing with ever since they first caught sight of one of their classmates asleep on the forest floor.

The sight of a male student's uniform let Itsuka know that it was a boy standing in the center of the tornado, and the fact that the gas seemed to be swirling around _him_ in particular told her plainly that he _was_ the one with the sleeping gas Quirk.

While they'd been making their way through the forest, passing the slumbering forms of both their classmates in 1-B and some of the kids in class 1-A, all of them with at least _some_ kind of scribble or doodle on their faces, Momo Yaoyorozu from 1-A had apparently been giving out gas masks so that no one else would be knocked out by the gas that this new kid in front of them was somehow either controlling or emitting with his Quirk.

_~MHA~_

The sense of more people – a pair of them, this time, who seemed to be the same age as he was, or at least the same size – making their way through his gas brought a small smile to Sandman's face. Thoughts of his name, of course, brought back thoughts of who had helped him to come up with it. For a certain value of "helping", at least; Midnight-sensei's definition of quite a _few_ things was a lot more… terrifying than anyone else's, to say the least.

Honestly, anyone who said that they _weren't_ terrified of Midnight-sensei was probably insane, or at least lying.

"Hey!" one of the two students called; he had a gruff voice and metal skin, but given what he could see of the metal kid's face – over and around the gas mask he was wearing – it seemed like he was grinning, or at least smiling pretty widely. "Nice work, deflating Monoma's oversized head," the metal kid flashed him a thumbs up. "Still, it looks like you're part of the test, and I don't want to fail, so it looks like we're going to have to capture you."

Chuckling, as the metal kid cracked his knuckles, he grinned back. "Well, good luck with that," he said, flexing his own hands in return. "But I was specially trained for this," he continued, brushing his right hand over the pocket where he kept the marker he'd been using.

_~MHA~_

The rumble of Gigantomachia's footsteps, as the huge man made his way over to their compound, brought more than a bit of consternation to Mandalay's mind. She'd heard Pixie-bob describing him as the world's scariest puppy more than a few times, but having Councilman Midoriya's personal bodyguard working so closely with the students had always made her uneasy; yes, she'd been told by the Councilman himself that Gigantomachia – whatever name he'd originally gone by, neither of them seemed willing to reveal it, which was just one more reason to question the man's presence – would listen to his son when Midoriya gave him an order or tell him _not_ to do, but Mandalay still wasn't quite sure what to make of the man. Yes, she knew that Gigantification Quirks were something that existed in their world, but Pixie-bob's description of the huge man as an oversized puppy was more accurate than her fellow Pussycat had probably first thought.

And puppies, even without meaning to, could do a lot of damage when they got too excited.

_[Gigantomachia,]_ she called, drawing the huge man's attention. _[Training is over for the day. What are you doing all the way out there?]_

As the giant of a man with wild hair and oddly rocky skin turned to make his way over to where she was standing, Mandalay noticed that there was someone clenched in his right fist, and that there seemed to be someone else riding on his left shoulder. More than anything, Mandalay wanted to know just what was going on. Of course, given how quickly Gigantomachia was approaching her and the compound, she knew that she'd have the chance to find out very soon.

"This man attacked the Young Lady," Gigantomachia said, holding out the struggling form of a large – well, at least compared to Mandalay herself; she'd yet to meet anyone who actually seemed _large_ when standing beside Gigantomachia, not even Councilman Midoriya himself, tall as he was – man to her.

The indicated man was struggling, growling and grumbling and threatening anyone around him, before Gigantomachia slammed him into the ground hard enough to leave yet another crater that Pixie-bob was going to have to fill in. That, of course, was when she managed to _recognize _the man that Gigantomachia had taken captive as the Villain who had almost killed her cousin and her husband, and who had apparently just tried to kill their son.

"Thank you, Gigantomachia," she said, once he'd finished explaining what had happened between Bombalurina-chan, Kota, and the Villain named Muscular. "I'll show you where you can take him."

"Thank you very much," the deep, thundering rumble of Gigantomachia's voice, and then his footfalls, had never quite sounded so comforting; Mandalay smiled.

_~MHA~_

As she and Tsu-chan followed in the wake of whoever it was that the Pussycats had brought in to test them while they were making their way through the woods around the Pussycats' compound, they'd ended up meeting Tenya-kun and Koda-kun, and then Tokoyami-kun and Shoji-kun. She _was_ glad to have the four of them present, since it meant that they would have a better chance of holding onto whoever it was that had run away with the nametags that they were supposed to collect.

"Come on, slowpokes," the nametag thief taunted, clearly grinning under the mask he had pulled up to just under his eyes, and once again Ochako found herself vaguely recognizing the voice of the young man leaping through the trees ahead of them. "Don't any of you actually _want_ your nametags? Or should I just take these back to Mandalay, and tell her you gave up?"

"So, there really _was_ more to this test than we were all expecting!" Iida-san exclaimed, actually sounding _happy_ about everything that was going on right now. "As expected of U.A.!"

Laughing softly, as the six of them all continued following in the wake of whoever their trainer – Ochako suspected that one of the Pussycats had invited him there, setting him loose on them to make the training all the harder for them – actually was, she still found herself thinking about his voice. There was _somewhere_ that she remembered it from, but with everything that was currently going on, she didn't have time to think about just where it was that she'd last heard it. If she'd actually heard it at all, anyway.

_~MHA~_

"All right," he said, grinning under his mask as he held up the kid who'd been pranking them out in the woods while they'd been trying to take this whole test of courage thing. "I've got you now, so when I drag you back to the Pussycats, that means Kendo and I will get credit for capturing you, right?"

"Well, I _guess_ that would be true, if you managed to takeme all the way back to the compound, and _then_ you could get credit for capturing me."

"Tetsutetsu, look out!"

"Wha?" he gasped, just before he felt the gas mask he'd been wearing come loose from his face, shutting his mouth as quickly as he could so he wouldn't end up inhaling any of the gas that this guy – he hadn't said either his name or what he was calling himself, so Tetsutetsu didn't know what to call him – was still putting out.

"It looks like he was distracting you so he could pull off your mask," Kendo said, beginning to make her way over to where he and the guy he'd just captured were standing, just as Tetsutetsu found himself beginning to struggle to hold the other kid up without being able to take a breath because of all the gas the guy he'd caught was still putting off.

Rocking back as whoever it was suddenly twisted out of his grip, Tetsutetsu made a grab for him, but quickly found _himself_ shoved backward as the other boy landed back on the ground, probably grinning if the way his eyes were crinkled was any indication.

_~MHA~_

"I wonder what I should put on _your_ face?" their attacker taunted, the tone of his voice clearly showing the grin he was wearing on his hidden mouth. "How about a cute, sleepy kitten?"

With a supreme effort of will, Itsuka swallowed her laughter at the thought of Tetsutetsu with a sleepy kitten scrawled on his face, since funny as this guy was he was _still_ playing a Villain. Lunging forward, since she was the only one in their group who'd managed to keep the gas mask that class 1-A's Momo Yaoyorozu had given so many of their fellow classmates to use, Itsuka made a grab for their attacker. He _was_ pretty good at dodging, but in the end she managed to snag him around the waist with Big Fist, lifting him into the air as he started laughing.

Itsuka found herself chuckling a bit, in return, as Tetsutetsu gave her a thumbs-up and then came over to fetch his mask again.

"I can't even move my arms," their attacker commented, and while there _did_ seem to be a tinge of annoyance in his tone, overall he sounded approving.

"I've heard all about the way Sir Nighteye talked about tickling your way out of a grapple," Itsuka said, grinning under the mask she was still wearing, watching out of the corner of her right eye as Tetsutetsu reclaimed his own mask and started putting it back on. "I'm not going to let _you_ get out that way."

Their attacker laughed. "Looking to get _full_ credit for this, are you?"

"Right," she said, grinning all the wider as she started carrying him away; she'd ask his name once they all made it back to the Pussycats' compound, but for the moment she had to concentrate on making it through the Beast's Forest.

There was always the chance that the Pussycats had brought in _other_ people to play Villains during this exercise.


	24. Sheltering Hope

When the six of them had _finally_ managed to pin down whoever it was that had stolen their nametags, with the help of Tsu-chan's tongue and Shoji-kun's arms, after Iida-kun had charged in to sweep the man's legs from under him with his Recipro Burst, Ochako sighed in relief as she, Tokoyami-kun, and Koda-san all made their way over to where he was standing.

"All right, you caught me," he said, laughing with that weirdly-familiar voice, his eyes crinkling up in a way that showed he was probably either smirking or grinning at them. "You're going to turn me in, all as a group?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding as she stepped up in front of him, looking into the masked face of the man – he _sounded_ older than them, at least – feeling slightly strange as his bright, almost _blazing_ blue eyes settled on her. "We all _caught_ you as a group, after all," she continued, gathering her composure as she reached for the hood and mask that he was wearing.

He chuckled softly, even as Tsu-chan unwrapped her tongue from around his waist, and Shoji-kun grabbed onto him with three sets of hands, so Ochako felt more brave than she would have if he'd just been staring at her silently. His blue eyes were just as intense as she remembered them being, though. As she pulled down his mask, pushing back the hood that he'd worn to further conceal his features, Ochako nearly stepped back in surprise as his fine-boned features and spiky, red hair were revealed, something that they were beginning to see more and more clearly as they closed in on the Pussycats' compound again.

"_Flashfire_?" she asked, the name of the Pro Hero coming right back to mind as soon as she'd seen the mass of spiky red hair fluffing up from under his hood.

"Yeah, they called me in," Flashfire – she remembered that he was a member of Todoroki-kun's family, but she couldn't quite remember his name at the moment. "Tenko told me you were a fangirl," Flashfire continued, giving her a sly smile; Ochako could feel her cheeks heating up as the seven of them all continued on their way back to the Pussycats' compound. "Just tell me you're not a Firedust shipper; lie to me, if you have to."

_~MHA~_

Holding back his laughter as well as he could, Touya mused that Tenko had been exactly right when he'd said that their Baby-bun's fangirl girlfriend was just as fun to tease as Hisashi's son himself had always been. As the seven of them all made their way into the compound to meet up with Mandalay, Touya narrowed his eyes as he heard the rumble of what sounded entirely too much like Gigantomachia's footsteps. There weren't many innocent reasons for Hisashi's personal bodyguard to have showed up at the compound, so Touya knew that he was going to have to check in with Mandalay and see just what in the hell had brought the towering man up to the compound.

He could only hope that they weren't being attacked by Villains or anything, considering how many kids they currently had all around them.

Smirking slightly as he found himself being carried over the first threshold, and then deeper into the compound, Touya chuckled as he caught sight of Mandalay. Not long after, naturally, he found himself presented to the leader of the Wild, Wild Pussycats herself. There was an air of distinct satisfaction about her even _before_ she'd spotted their group, something that made Touya more than a bit curious about what had been going on before the seven of them had made their way back.

It was probably something good, at least, given how calm she seemed to be at the moment.

"Well, I see your team managed to finish before anyone else," Mandalay said, making her way over to where the seven of them – him, and the six kids who'd managed to get the drop on him – had all gathered in the front room of the compound. "Have you taken your nametags back yet?"

"Oh," the pink-cheeked little fangirl said, seeming more than a little embarrassed to have been called out that way. "Right, I'll get them."

There was, of course, only one thing that Touya could do in light of that.

"Bet you _love_ getting the chance to grope- I mean _frisk_, me. Eh, fangirl?"

Laughing as the little fangirl spluttered, backing away from him and shoving one of her other friends forward with a bright blush covering her face, Touya found his attention drawn to Mandalay as she herself started laughing.

"Well, I suppose that's _one_ way to keep hold of those nametags," Mandalay said, regaining her composure as she made her way over to where the six kids – the heroes in training he'd been brought to this place to help test – were all standing, smiling widely at Touya as the froglike girl who Tenko's fangirl had pushed forward to take the nametags from him came up to him.

Forcing himself not to squirm as the froglike girl wrapped her long, wet tongue around his right hand, after she'd pulled it out of the right pocket of the hoodie he'd been wearing, Touya found that he couldn't quite stop himself from shuddering as she did so.

"Well, _that_ was gross," he said, shaking out his drool-covered right hand, the grin on his face turning into a light grimace before he forced himself to relax.

Mandalay laughed softly. "Come on, Touya, let's get you cleaned up. Then you can go have some food."

"Thanks," he said, following in their wake as Mandalay and the kids all started making their way deeper into the compound.

_~MHA~_

"Well, _that's_ gross," Kacchan said, looking over at what seemed to be a big patch of glittery slime splattered against one of the trees they'd been about to pass by.

"Yeah," he said, cringing as he pulled up a vision-enhancement Quirk, narrowing his eyes as he studied the patch of slime. "We should keep moving; I don't think we're going to be able to find whoever this is by just standing around."

"Yeah," Shoto-kun muttered, turning his own attention to the tree and the splattered slime on the trunk. "I wonder who this is."

"Yeah," he said, as the three of them moved on.

Izuku also found himself wondering just who it was that the Pussycats had brought to camp; he didn't think that their camp had been attacked by any Villain but the one that Mandalay had identified as Muscular, since when she'd sent him back out into the Beast's Forest it hadn't been with any warnings to keep himself out of trouble. As the three of them continued on their way through the Beast's Forest, Izuku called up Hayato-kun's Quirk, prepared to extend the wings he'd been granted at a moment's notice.

"You really think you'll be able to find this guy by flying, Zuzu?" Kacchan asked, sounding more than a little dubious.

"How did you know I called up Hayato-kun's Quirk, Kacchan?" he asked, wondering once again just how his old friend had managed to tell just what Quirk he was holding in reserve; at least when he'd ended up using this particular Quirk.

"You always roll your shoulders when you get _that_ Quirk ready, nerd," Kacchan said, smirking at him.

Before Izuku could say anything else in response, more of that glittery slime splattered against Shoto-kun's quickly raised ice barrier.

"We should probably move faster," Shoto-kun said, as the three of them hurried out of the range of whoever it was that was shooting that glittery slime at them. "We still have to find those nametags."

"Yeah," he said, nodding as the three of them hurried on their way through the woods.

_~MHA~_

"Where the heck _are_ we?" Hanta Sero demanded, once he'd regained his sense of himself and the world around him.

Looking around at the room he'd found himself in, Hanta quickly found that there were quite a few more people than he'd noticed at first, and also that there was one large, glittery, eye-searing centerpiece of the room where they'd all been gathered together.

"What the hell do they think this is, _pre-school_?!" Hanta found himself saying, staring up at the banner strung up at the front of the room; the one that said "Welcome, captives!" in oversized, glittery yellow Romaji letters.

"I know," Yaoyorozu said, making her way over to where he was standing. "It's strange, but I've seen a lot of our classmates here, alongside a great deal of the students from class 1-B. None of _them_ seem to know where we are, either. Every one of them also seems to have lost at least _some_ amount of time before they came to this place," Yaoyorozu continued, moving closer to where he was standing, glancing briefly at all of their fellow schoolmates gathered in this strange room with the both of them.

"_That's_ weird," he said.

Sure, a few people reporting that kind of thing might or might not have meant anything, but _every_ one of their fellow students reporting just that same kind of thing had to mean something. Hanta didn't know quite _what_ that kind of thing meant, but there were enough people around that _one_ of them would probably have _some_ idea about what was going on outside the walls of whatever room they'd all ended up in.

_~MHA~_

Chuckling as he made his way back to the point where he'd dropped the last batch of Hero students, all of them neatly compressed but only some of them unconscious, Mr. Compress tossed the little orbs down the pipe that had been set up in order to carry the orbs that his Quirk created down to the room that had been set up for the little Heroes in training. Tucking his hands back into the pockets of his favorite coat, Mr. Compress smiled as he found himself reflecting on the rather interesting circumstances that had brought him to this place and time.

Atsuhiro Sako originally been an entertainer, though he hadn't used his Quirk for such things, preferring to make use of his skill at sleight of hand, but he _had_ possessed more than a bit of wanderlust. What he _had_ used his Quirk for – sparing himself the trouble of packing, and thus enabling himself to carry all of the furniture that he'd previously purchased to his next chosen place of residence – had inevitably drawn the ire of those who wished to see the world remain in the state that it had been before Quirks had truly become a part of the world. It always seemed as though those in power would always attempt to halt the hands of time in their very tracks.

However, there were also those who would give their aid to those who had been cast out by society, or those who lived on the fringes.

Toshinori Shimura – even bereft of a Quirk as the man was, making _him_ just as much an oddity in this day and age as anyone whose Quirk had been deemed "villainous" by society and the media – was, therefore, one of the greatest boons that those who found themselves out of step with society as a whole could have been given. Some of those who would otherwise have been forced to eke out their existence in the shadows were given the chance to live happy lives in the light once Shimura had come to them. Among those Mr. Compress maintained contact with, he'd heard Shimura referred to as the Sunshine Man, Gramps, and even Little Toshi; however, there was also another name that those who had _chosen _to remain in the shadows had given the man.

To those who had chosen to tread Chiron's path, Toshinori Shimura was the Hero who saved Villains.

Smiling more widely under his mask, Mr. Compress turned to make his way back under the eaves of the forest; he still had Hero students to test, so he could hardly spend _all_ his time woolgathering.

_~MHA~_

The ground under him trembled, as All Might found himself slammed into the ground by one of the poor people who had been taken by Overhaul and his Shie Hassaikai, and as he restrained the figure's arms, All Might found that sheer horror froze him in place far more than the drug-enhanced strength of whoever it was that he was currently facing. It seemed as though he only blinked once, before Hisashi's staff was driven into the poor civilian's face, throwing whoever it had been back down to the ground.

_/Toshi-kun, I know you feel sorry for these people, but under the circumstances the only compassion you can _truly_ offer them is a swift, painless death./_

Trying to force himself not to shudder, knowing that Hisashi was exactly right – none of these people could ever truly be restored to what they were before, and after what had happened to Mungojerrie Elliot, All Might wasn't about to allow anyone else to suffer the same, slow, lingering death as he'd inadvertently allowed that man to experience – All Might gathered himself, surging forward to snap the suffering citizen's neck, before moving on to aid his fellow Pro Heroes. There would be time to think about what had happened later; to mourn and to gather themselves, once they'd managed to find young Niseko and young Eri and take them out of the clutches of Kai Chisaki and his Shie Hassaikai.

Putting aside the part of him that wished he could have saved _these_ people, not to mention those who had ended up falling in with the Yakuza, All Might gathered himself and charged forward once more. There was only a single wall that stood between all of his fellow Pro Heroes and the compound where the Shie Hassaikai had hidden themselves, so all he had to do was get through it, and they would be able to bring young Niseko and young Eri to safety. They would be able to give those scared, suffering children the chance to live normal lives.

"Texas _Smash_!"

_~MHA~_

The sound of All Might's signature battle cry – one in a long line of them, anyway – drew his attention for a moment, and Endeavor narrowed his eyes as he found himself reminded yet again of how many times he'd spoken to the man about the Quirk he'd used to make himself over as the Symbol of Peace; the Quirk that he'd lorded over Endeavor ever since the day he'd been given it to begin with. The Quirk that had ultimately originated from Hisashi Midoriya, by means of some kind of interaction with the feeble Quirk of Midoriya's younger brother. It was purely _infuriating_, and even as he used Hellflame to wall off sections of the battlefield, Endeavor found his attention drawn to the lightly armored, white coated, masked and anonymous form of Sensei, pushing forward with that ridiculous prop of a staff he always seemed to carry.

Both of them – the Symbol of Peace _and_ the Symbol of Hope – were mocking him from behind those false faces the both of them wore to keep them out of the unearned spotlight that would otherwise fall upon the pair of them for their efforts; the efforts that were only made possible by those infuriatingly versatile Quirks that the pair of them had been blessed with. One at birth, and the other whenever he had had the chance to encounter the Councilman. Grinding his teeth as he continued pressing forward, Endeavor aimed and launched a Hell Spear at another one of those mindless beasts attacking them.

He knew from the briefing he'd attended that, while every one of these enemies _had_ once been ordinary citizens with Heteromorphic-type Quirks, not a single one of them could be restored to their former selves; death was the only mercy that anyone could offer them now.

_~MHA~_

Looking around, having pulled up a vision-enhancement Quirk from within his own All For One, Izuku also pulled up his copy of Ragdoll's Search Quirk. Aizawa-sensei and the Pussycats hadn't just been working to help him improve the _copies_ of the Quirks that he'd been given, but also to expand the stockpile of Quirks that he'd been mostly given through the connections that Dad had made through his work. Either through the people that Dad had made friends with, or else through the work that Ujiko-sensei had been doing with all of his clinics and other things.

Still, it sometimes felt like he was back in Deika city with Dad, having all kinds of treats foisted off on him, each and every one of them made with _something_ that contained the DNA for one kind of Quirk or another; still at least no one here was calling him _Genesis_.

"We've still got shit to do, Zuzu," Kacchan said, a slap to the back of Izuku's head bringing his attention firmly back to the forest the three of them were all still making their way through.

"Right, sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head and feeling more than a little sheepish.

"You seem to get lost in thought very easily, Midoriya," Shoto-san said, looking over at him as the three of them continued on their way through the Beast's Forest.

"Yeah," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"It seems like you should learn to concentrate, Midoriya," Shoto-san said, and Izuku looked over to see the look up disapproval – subtle as any of Shoto-san's expressions seemed to be – on his face. "Even though this _is_ just a training exercise, you shouldn't let yourself become complacent."

"I know," he said, sighing softly.

Kacchan clapped him on the right shoulder, wrapping his left arm around both of his shoulders and giving him a light shake. Izuku smiled, feeling a bit better about everything that was going on. Sure, it didn't seem quite like Shoto-san approved of him, but there would be plenty of time for him and Shoto-san to get to know each other better.

_~MHA~_

"All right, so we all ended up in here, and no one here really knows how or why," she said, folding her arms as she looked out over the gathered group of her fellow U.A. students.

She may have only been the Vice-representative for class 1-A, but this was still a time and a place where she would be able to aid her fellow Heroes-in-training.

"Why don't we just try going out through the door?" Hagakure-chan asked, gesturing to the door their massive group was all gathered in front of.

Before Momo could say anything, Hagakure-chan was standing in front of that very same door, opening it to unleash a veritable _avalanche_ of stuffed bears and other kinds of plushes into the room they were all standing in. Hagakure-chan yelped, jumping back from all of the tumbling toys spreading out all over the floor, but the sound of Sero-kun _laughing _drew her attention before Momo could think of anything to say to Hagakure-chan.

"Well, I guess that's _one_ way to keep us all in here."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Momo said, feeling more than slightly nostalgic as she looked down on the pile of plushes.

It had, after all, been one of the projects that she and Midoriya-kun had collaborated on together, though a large part of the pile _was_ admittedly due to the way Midoriya-kun's curiosity about Quirks and all related matters leading him to combine one of the enhancement Quirks that he'd been given by his father with the copy of Creation that he'd made with his own Quirk. She still found herself both unsettled and slightly amused by the memory of the way that a veritable _explosion _of plushes had emerged from Midoriya-kun's exposed skin in the wake of his test of those particular Quirks.

The way he'd all but _inhaled_ his share of the food that had been set out for the pair of them in the wake of such a thing still remained more than a little unsettling, of course.

_~MHA~_

Making his way into the depths of the underground tunnels beneath Pops' old house – the one he'd grown up in, after Pops had given him the chance to _truly_ live for the first time since he'd been born – Chisaki found himself smiling as he looked down at the gently stirring form of Niseko-chan in his arms. As the pure, gentle child's eyes opened, their silvery depths clearing as Niseko-chan's eyes focused on him, Chisaki held him closer. It seemed for a moment as though Niseko-chan was going to ask him a question, but he settled back into Chisaki's arms without a word, and with only the softest of sounds.

"You don't need to worry about anything, Niseko-chan," he said, cradling the pure, gentle child close to his chest to soothe him. "I won't allow anything more to happen to you," he said, making a silent promise that he would even protect the silver-eyed boy from the results of his own naïve kindness. "You'll be perfectly safe here, from now on. I'll make certain of it."

Carrying Niseko-chan the rest of the way down the hall, up to the room where he'd had Pops and all of the equipment that maintained him in the comatose state he'd been forced to put him in until he would be able to present the old man with not only the cleansed, perfected world that he'd envisioned for so long, but also a society where the Yakuza would be able to rule from the shadows once more, Chisaki found his hidden smile widening all the more as his made his way into the room itself. Stroking the back of Niseko-chan's head, having removed his gloves for this particular task, Chisaki carried Niseko-chan over to the bed where Pops had been resting for so long.

"There's still a few things that need to be taken care of, before you can go back to your room, Niseko-chan," he said, shifting the pure, kind child in his arms so that he could pull back Pops' blanket just enough that he would be able to fit Niseko-chan under it, as well. "For now, enjoy your time with Pops."

Lightly resting both of his bare hands on Niseko-chan's head, Chisaki used the same, gentle application of Overhaul that he'd used when he'd put Pops to sleep in this very same bed, closing Niseko-chan's pale, silver eyes with a sweep of his right hand once he'd finished. Pulling his gloves back on as he made his way back out of the room, Chisaki made a brief stop to place Niseko-chan's neatly-folded mask and gloves on a nearby side table.

He'd be needing them again soon enough, naturally.


	25. Hisashi Midoriya: Origin

Narrowing his eyes, even as he called up a shielding Quirk, brandishing the staff he'd had designed to cover the use of the Quirks that couldn't have been explained as a facet of Panacea, Hisashi once again found himself chafing against the restrictions – a great many of them self-imposed, yes – that he operated under while in the guise of Sensei. True, such things _had _provided him the freedom to live as he wished with Inko, Izuku, Tenko-chan, and the family he had formed for himself during the course of all the work that he had done, first as All For One, then the Immortal Shepherd, and then by taking up the mantle of the Symbol of Hope. However, finding himself in a situation like this, holding the back lines against any of the Shie Hassaikai's reconstructed civilians who might have been able to slip past Toshi-kun and his fellow Pro Heroes, gave Hisashi something to think about.

It also gave him something of an appreciation for the frustration that Shiro must have felt, during the times _he'd_ been forced to stay behind in the mansion where Hisashi and his forces had established themselves during the turbulent times when Quirks had first begun emerging in the world.

The sense of Enji close by, marching furiously along beside him, brought a light flutter of amusement to Hisashi as the pair of them moved forward; himself back with the main group of Pro Heroes, and Enji alongside Toshi-kun at the forefront of the battle lines. The expression that he caught sight of, those times when he was close enough to catch an actual _glimpse_ of Enji's face as opposed to simply sensing his presence through one of the many Quirks that he used to keep track of those around him when he was in battle, or even simply when he was spending time with large amounts of people, or even just his dear family when they were all out in a park, or on vacation, provided more than a bit of amusement.

Turning his attention back to the battle currently at hand, Hisashi found Toshi-kun locked in battle with yet another in a long line of those altered civilians he'd been seeing. He'd heard from both Toshi-kun as well as Toshi-kun's friend in the police force, that the creatures they were facing had been the citizens who'd once lived in Rosaru, before the Ward had been destroyed. He'd make a point of reporting his suspicions – all but confirmed as they were, given their present circumstances – that the Shie Hassaikai, in the person of Kai Chisaki, had been responsible for the disappearances of the inhabitants of the entire Ward.

At least those who had not been killed outright, though Hisashi found it rather interesting that only those with Heteromorphic-type Quirks had been _taken_ rather than killed.

There was a part of him, Hisashi could admit – if only to himself – that wished to deliver one of the citizens to Dr. Ujiko, so that his oldest friend would be able to determine just _how_ the former citizens of the Rosaru Ward had been altered during the time that Chisaki had been in possession of them. Both in deference to his own curiosity, as well as the fact that Ujiko himself would have been interested in such a thing.

_~MHA~_

Once they'd made it back to the compound where those old cat ladies were waiting for them, with the lizard guy and his stupid glitter-slime gun both in their custody, Katsuki found himself paying more and more attention to Zuzu; his old friend was _really_ starting to fret. It was pretty obvious that Zuzu's attention had drifted back to what Uncle Sashi, All Might, and all of those Pros who were taking their fight to that Villain group they were fighting while him, Zuzu, and all the other extras in both the Hero course classes were all working to hone their Quirks and get their feet under them. He'd have to find a way to keep Zuzu from going too far off in his own head, while Uncle Sashi was working with All Might and those Pros.

Zuzu in particular had been stuffing himself with all kinds of Quirks, getting a real workout for the mutation of the Quirk he'd inherited from Uncle Sashi, which was kind of funny to see when he got back to the room that all of class 1-A shared with each other, since Zuzu would always flop right down into the futon that'd been set out for him and go right to sleep. The _really _funny part was when he would wake up, of course, since there was the funniest look of confusion on Zuzu's face when he would open his eyes and look at all of them. Katsuki suspected that the first thing the little nerd would do, when he and Uncle Sashi were both back home together, was ask his dad to take some of those Quirks off of his hands, so to speak.

When the three of them, with that lizard who taught self-defense classes for anyone outside of the Hero course as their captive, made their way back into the compound where those old cat ladies lived and worked, Katsuki found himself met nearly at the door by Hedgehog and Uraraka. Though in Uraraka's case…

"Looks like your girlfriend came to meet you at the door, Zuzu," he said, turning to grin at the little nerd, even as said little nerd blushed, turning to him with an annoyed look on his freckled face.

"Kacchan!"

Laughing and dodging as Zuzu took a half-hearted swipe at him, Katsuki turned to look over at Hedgehog as the redhead with hair that was _almost_ as spiky as his – though not _nearly_ as cool as his, of course – came over to where the pair of them were standing.

"Come on, Bakugo, lay off," Hedgehog said, though there was a small smile on his face, too. "The Pussycats want to talk to us about the next phase of our training, so let's get going."

"Right, whatever," he said, turning to smirk at Zuzu, before he tucked his hands into his pockets and followed Zuzu, Hedgehog, and Uraraka out of the front room.

_~MHA~_

Smashing his way through another one of those poor people who'd been abducted and transformed by the Shie Hassaikai, and likely Kai Chisaki in particular, given what Sir and the rest of his people had managed to find out about the Quirk he possessed, All Might tried as hard as he could not to think about just who it was that he was fighting. There was even a small, shameful part of him that was actually _grateful _that he hadn't managed to find out much of anything about the people who'd once lived in the Rosaru Ward. All Might tried as hard as he could to ignore _that_ part, too.

As hard as he tried not to think about all of the people he was being forced to attack, All Might was also trying to keep an eye on his fellow Pros as they pushed forward against the forces that Kai Chisaki – the _worst_ kind of Villain that All Might had ever had to deal with in _either_ of his lives – had sent out to delay them, presumably so that he would be able to escape with the children that he had kidnapped. Another Texas Smash cleared a path through the rubble that had steadily been piling up around them as their front-line Heroes tried to clear Kai Chisaki's innocent victims out of their way.

All Might didn't like thinking about it, but that was the situation they were facing, on this dark, horrible night.

_~MHA~_

Lightly nipping his lower lip as he continued to consider his next course of action; not only in the heat of the battle he was taking part in, but in the life that he had chosen to lead, Hisashi once again found himself considering his options. The life that he might very well be making a change to during the course of this very battle, depending not only on what occurred during the course of it, but the choices that he made _during_ said battle. The sight of Chiyo-chan, in full costume and with the syringe-looking cane that she made use of when she was in costume, as well as those few times that he'd seen her dressed as a civilian, brought a small smile to his face. Apparently, Chiyo-chan had been brought in to take some of the strain off of his own Quirk.

Or rather, the collection of stacked Quirks that he used under the guise of Panacea.

Narrowing his eyes as he sensed the stalking presence of someone who hadn't been a part of their group – someone that seemed to have a non-heteromorphic Quirk of some kind or other, given what he could sense of them with Panoception – Hisashi turned as he felt the ground seemingly lurching under him. Almost as though it were under the control of some kind of Quirk or another; however, the information that he was receiving from Panoception ran _completely_ counter to that initial impression. Calling Puppet Master up from within All For One, Hisashi steadied his own body as he searched for whoever it was that was currently attacking their group.

Shifting his staff, allowing Chiyo-chan to balance herself for a moment, Hisashi narrowed his eyes as he focused in on their attacker with Panoception. It seemed as though there _was_ only one of them, which was both pleasing and slightly annoying at once. Yes, it _was_ an advantage, the assumption that both he and Chiyo-chan would be equally affected by the Quirk that their present opponent was bringing to bear against them, but it still felt more than slightly insulting. However, being underestimated _was_ one of the greatest advantages he possessed when working as the Symbol of Hope.

Toshi-kun's own difficulties, the weight of the Symbol of Peace, served as something of an object lesson whenever Hisashi would find himself reflecting upon his own choices.

_~MHA~_

_What in the _hell_?!_ Grinding his teeth behind his mask, as he watched both of those Heroes stumble – showing that the both of them _had_ been caught by Sloshed when he'd closed in on them – but then the taller one in the helmet managed to stand back up, and even seemed to be looking for him. It was annoying, but Deidoro Sakaki wasn't about to let himself fail the man who'd given him a chance to actually _mean_ something in the world. He wasn't going to let these so-called Heroes stand in the way of Overhaul's plans.

Still, even as the short, old Hero stumbled under the effect of his Quirk, Deidoro snarled, watching as the tall one in the long, white coat and silvery chest armor and helmet quickly managed to right himself. Not knowing just how in the hell some puny _healer_ had managed to throw off the effects of his Quirk given how close he was to the both of them, Deidoro drew three of his knives and dove at the taller healer. The broad shoulders and narrow hips suggested he was dealing with a man, but that kind of thing was stupid, and _completely_ secondary to what Deidoro knew he needed to do.

Whatever the Quirk that healer actually _had_, he'd stumbled when he'd first been affected by Sloshed, so that meant that he only had to get through was whatever Quirk was protecting him; distract him, _cut_ him, whatever. He'd just have to land a hit.

_~MHA~_

As their unknown attacker – presumably a part of the Shie Hassaikai, considering where and when the man had appeared – made his approach, Hisashi found himself wondering just when they would make their _full_ appearance. Of course, Hisashi had already been made aware of the man's creeping presence through Panoception, but the necessity of utilizing Puppet Master on himself _had_ served to distract Hisashi's attention from determining just who their present attacker was and just what their Quirk was capable of. The fact that he and Chiyo-chan were _still_ under the effects of the man's Quirk, hence pressing him to use Puppet Master in _combat_, meant that he'd little attention to spare determining what the man's Quirk or capabilities might have been, was more irritating than Hisashi would have admitted to anyone who might have thought to ask.

All that Hisashi could _truly_ say he knew, for the moment, was that the man's Quirk involved disruption of the physical systems of one's body; little enough information to go on, to be sure, but for the moment that was the situation he and Chiyo-chan were presently in.

Snapping his arms out, hands gripping his staff tightly, he smashed the white-masked man in the face. Narrowing his eyes as the man pulled out another set of knives – a mere pair, this time, as though to contrast with the three he was wielding in what seemed to be his off-hand; if he wasn't somehow ambidextrous – charging forward in an animalistic sort of way, crouching on the ground after he'd hurled the pair of knives he was wielding, Hisashi braced himself for a moment. Then, Hisashi batted them aside with his staff, narrowing his eyes under the helmet he was still wearing.

Being forced to maintain _conscious_ control of his body, in order to throw off the effects of their attacker's Quirk with the source of it so close by, was causing him more than his fair share of difficulties in his present struggle. Of course, the fact that he was limiting himself to purely physical attacks… It was yet one more restriction that Hisashi was beginning to find himself chafing under. When the man he was fighting hurled another pair of knives at him, Hisashi allowed himself to fall backwards, knowing from the man's previous actions that he would lunge just as soon as Hisashi had dodged out of the way of the knives he'd just thrown.

The knives themselves were merely a distraction, quite like something he himself would have done, only making use of his own stockpile of Quirks rather than any conventional weapons or Support items.

When the knife that he'd allowed the man to keep hold of, after he'd knocked the other two free from his hand, Hisashi smiled as he called up the Telekinesis Quirk he'd used during his life as Councilman Midoriya – something to tie him closer to Inko-chan when he acted as a civilian – jammed into the top of the helmet he'd worn for as long as he'd operated as the Symbol of Hope, Hisashi _twisted_, gripping his damaged helmet with the Quirk he tended to visualize as one or more pairs of ethereal hands. The seam that had been opened, splitting the blue-tinted visor down the center, brought a slight smirk to Hisashi's face as he felt the helmet beginning to crack.

_~MHA~_

When he jammed his knife into the helmet of the healer, who'd _somehow_ thrown off the affects of his Quirk even though Deidoro had been practically _standing_ on his damned _feet_ when he'd revealed himself, the last thing he'd been expecting was for the guy to _let _himself get stabbed in the head. As the silvery helmet with the blue visor shaped like the Romaji letter "T" split in half, the knife he'd drawn to replace the one he'd lodged in the annoying healer's head suddenly _tore itself out of his hand and launched itself into the rubble of what looked like at _least_ a couple of buildings._

"What in the _hell_?!" Deidoro demanded, feeling his eyes widening until he almost felt like they would pop out of his damned _head_, before he narrowed them, glaring at the man whose face had just been revealed to him.

_~MHA~_

The man wearing the white mask and furred cape – the one with the odd Quirk, who had presumably been wielding knives to compensate for his rather pronounced lack of combat abilities – leaped at him nearly before the severed pieces of his helmet had fallen to the ground. Hisashi found himself having to firmly bite back a smirk as he once again called up Dragon's Breath from within the depths of All For One, searing the right hand of their attacker badly enough that he was not only forced to drop the pair of knives he'd drawn to attack them, but to back off entirely. It seemed that, whoever this was, he had at least _some_ sense.

"Councilman Midoriya?"

The sound of Chiyo-chan's voice brought his attention back to the present – back to the choice he'd just made; a firm reminder that there were consequences to every move he chose to make – and Hisashi smiled back at her, even as Panoception tracked the flight of their attacker.

"A bit of a surprise, Chiyo-chan?" he asked, settling back into the relaxed, easygoing persona he'd built for himself as Councilman Midoriya.

It seemed as though he was going to be making more use of it, now that he'd made his decision to reveal the true face of Sensei; to join Toshi-kun in the half-light that Nana-chan's successor had been living in for such a long time.

"It certainly is, young man," Chiyo-chan said. "Of course, knowing you, you'll probably wait to explain more at the press conference."

Hisashi bit back a secretive smile, chuckling under his breath, even as he found himself wondering how Toshi-kun and the others were doing; if one of these stragglers had managed to slip past them, they might very well be forced to face off with more of the Shie Hassaikai sooner than later. Or perhaps they would be faced with those the Hassaikai had altered, and Hisashi _would_ have his chance to take a sample. Even if only a bit of blood or hair, or perhaps a severed claw; these people _were_ in possession of heteromorphic-type Quirks.

_~MHA~_

Smashing his way through the walls of the compound, All Might found that there wasn't a single one of the Shie Hassaikai's higher-ups in the twisting maze of tunnels that he and Endeavor had been smashing and blasting their way through. More and more, it was becoming clear that Kai Chisaki had managed to either figure out what they were doing on his own, or else the young Yakuza head was simply paranoid enough to evacuate his entire operation in the wake of his encounter with Stendhal. The sound of crackling fire, followed swiftly by thoroughly infuriated sounding growl, let All Might know that Endeavor was approaching.

And that he was furious, but that wasn't exactly new for the Todoroki patriarch; he couldn't help the feeling that receiving One For All would be the best thing for young Todoroki, considering how his father was prone to act.

"Bastard must have evacuated before we got here," Endeavor snarled, the shroud of fire he wore on his face and shoulders crackling more wildly from his obvious fury.

"Yes, it looks like he did," All Might said, finding his speech-patterns falling into the semi-formal style he tended to use when he was working beside his fellow Pros as the Symbol of Peace.

The sound of charging footsteps drew his attention then, and All Might turned to watch as Fatgum, Sir Nighteye, and the rest of the group he and Endeavor had come with. The lines of tension and fury in Stendhal's stance, as the Freelance Hero stomped into the room they were gathering in on his heavy-cleated, armored boots, drove All Might to chew the inside of his right cheek briefly. Even as he reassured his fellow Pros about what had just happened during the course of their abortive raid on the Shie Hassaikai's compound, All Might found that the sight of Stendhal's clear fury wouldn't leave his mind.

It was beginning to seem like the talk he'd had with Stendhal – even as the Symbol of Peace – hadn't managed to get through to the man; he didn't know if anything he said had even made the slightest impact on the Freelance Hero at all.

Holding himself up as well as he could, his bright grin feeling more than a little forced under the circumstances, All Might fell in beside Endeavor as the pair of them led their fellow Pros back out of the compound. However, once he saw who was waiting for all of them – more than that, when he caught a glimpse of the _state_ his old friend was in – it was all he could do not to rush right over to where Hisashi – the broken mask of Sensei having fallen to the ground somewhere out of sight – was standing. What kept him back, even more than the need to keep up the image of the Symbol of Peace, was the calm smile that Hisashi was wearing.

It seemed as though his old friend had finally decided to step into the light with the rest of them.

The curious voices of his fellow Pros, most of them – with the obvious exception of Endeavor, who still seemed just as angry as he'd been when they'd started this whole operation – more than a little confused to see Councilman Midoriya standing at ease in the devastated battleground that had been left behind.

"A battle like this can't truly be won without resonating sacrifice," Hisashi said, a gentle smile on his old friend's face as he took up the staff he always carried – All Might wondered for a moment if he'd keep using it, considering that he was clearly going to need to reveal at least _some_ of the true nature of his own Quirk, considering what he'd just chosen to do – making his way to the center of the group of Pros. "This, I suppose, is mine."

That was pretty much the answer All Might had been expecting from his old friend; Hisashi might have enjoyed teasing his friends and playing with his family, but he also had a tendency to think in literary terms. It was kind of funny, really. All Might sometimes found himself wondering if Hisashi would have been happier as a writer than anything else.

Still, if there was anything All Might knew about his old friend, it was that he was determined to live on his own terms.


	26. Hero Worship

Laughing softly as he and Kacchan worked to dig Kirishima-san out from under the pile of plushies that he'd sunk into after throwing himself onto it in an effort to climb over it, Izuku laughed harder as Kacchan turned to him with sarcastic, unamused expression.

"Hedgehog just can't seem to keep from leaping before he looks," Kacchan said, rolling his eyes as the pair of them finally managed to grab Kirishima-san's arms and haul him back to his feet.

_Who does_ that_ remind me of,_ Izuku found himself musing fondly, chuckling under his breath. Still, even the fact that he hadn't actually _said_ anything didn't stop Kacchan from giving him a light, brotherly punch to the arm as the three of them made their way over to the wall to pick up a shovel each; Kacchan claimed he'd "heard you thinking it, nerd". As he, Kacchan, and Kirishima-san joined up with the other thirteen students who'd been sent to dig their fellow classmates – the same kind of eclectic mix of 1-A and 1-B; with the notable exception of Monoma – out of the pseudo-rubble that had been placed in the room that the rest of their schoolmates were waiting for them in.

Of course, the fact that said other group had both Monoma _and_ Momo-san gave them a better chance of organizing to escape on their own.

Still, they couldn't really call themselves heroes – much less Pros in training – if they left their fellow students to rescue themselves from even a _simulated_ disaster like the one they were currently dealing with. As the sixteen of them all worked in shifts to clear the pile of plushies in the room between them and the rest of their schoolmates, Izuku narrowed his eyes as he called up a telescopic vision Quirk from within his stockpile. Sure enough, Momo-san had a shovel of her own, and was working to dig her own way out of the room that she and the other, larger group of their schoolmates had been put by… whoever had been playing the Villain that had captured them.

Even as he and the others all kept working, having split their large group in half so that they could work in shifts, Izuku found that the sense of unease that he'd found himself prey to for such a long time _still_ lingered in his mind. Puffing his cheeks, Izuku determinedly forced the thought of what might be happening to Dad and Uncle Toshi while he and the rest of his schoolmates were all undergoing training to become Pro Heroes. He was _going_ to focus, he was _going_ to finish whatever work Aizawa-sensei and the Pussycats assigned him, and he was going to be happy for Dad and Uncle Toshi when the both of them made it back.

Waving to Momo-san as the pair of them caught sight of each other over the steadily-diminishing pile of plushies, Izuku couldn't quite stop himself from chuckling; of all the things they could have used the plushies that he and Momo-san had created while he'd been working to get a handle on the Quirk he'd copied from her, the Pussycats had decided to fill a whole room with them, in order to get them used to moving lighter debris. Izuku found himself wondering what else the Pussycats would end up doing with them, once he and the rest of their schoolmates had gotten through the room they were all in.

Once they'd all finished with the assignment, Monoma managing to pounce on him in spite of Kendo-san trying to yank him back before he landed on Izuku's back.

"Being stuck in that room without you was _torture_, partner," Monoma said, rubbing his right cheek against Izuku's; rolling his eyes, Izuku sighed.

"All right, knock it off," Kacchan said, dragging Monoma off of his back, tossing him at Kendo-san who quickly grabbed him with an oversized hand.

Before any of them could start talking about anything else that Aizawa-sensei or the Pussycats might have had planned for them, Mandalay came into the hall where all of them were standing. There was a look on her face that… Well, she seemed to have a lot on her mind, maybe even more than Izuku himself had been struggling with.

"There's been a new development, and they're just about to broadcast it on the news," she said, and the look Mandalay gave him when she said that…

He didn't know quite what to think, but Izuku could at least say that it didn't make him _that_ uneasy.

_~MHA~_

When they'd all gathered together again, Toshi-kun had naturally been the first to call a press conference, so that the both of them – though Hisashi knew that he would be the one doing most of the talking; under the circumstances, he could hardly do anything less – would be able to inform the public at large what had occurred, as well as to calm them so that there wouldn't be too much upheaval caused by the revelation of the identity that he had kept secret for such a long time. At least, the identity of the Symbol of Hope; Nana-chan's nameless partner would continue to remain so, and the Immortal Shepherd would remain a thing of the past, as well.

Hisashi Shigaraki was, after all, a name that belonged to history.

Toshi-kun was, naturally, the most attentive to him while he and the other Pro Heroes were making their way into the news helicopter that had landed before their group when the front-line of their group had returned from their abortive attack on Kai Chisaki and his Shie Hassaikai. Folding himself neatly into the seat that was offered to him by the news anchor, an offer that was quickly echoed by the pilot. Smiling as he thanked the news anchor for her generous offer, Hisashi settled in next to Toshi-kun as the helicopter began taking off again.

_~MHA~_

During their flight, All Might had begun to find himself more and more aware of the tension stretched between Hisashi and Endeavor – one-sided as it was, since Hisashi wasn't the kind of person to let tension of any kind get to him – with the Flame Hero frowning steadily more severely at Hisashi, even as Hisashi smirked back in turn. All Might found himself almost wanting to sigh; given the look on Hisashi's face, his old friend – the man that was pretty much his adopted father, a fact that Hisashi was more than eager to tease him about whenever he brought it up – had spotted the seething annoyance on Endeavor's face, and like a shark smelling blood in the water his old friend was more than ready to pounce. Leaning in slightly, still wearing the smile that Nana had inspired him to wear during those times when he would act as the Symbol of Peace, All Might leaned in slightly so that he could speak to Hisashi privately.

At least as privately anyone in the close confines of a news helicopter, of course.

"Could you at least _try_ to behave yourself while we're all stuck here, Hisashi?" he asked, leaning in just enough so that he could talk to his old friend without so much risk of being overheard by any of their fellow Pros.

"I suppose, if it would make _you_ happy," Hisashi said, the sly look in his old friend's eyes letting All Might know that his old friend was bound to find one of his infamous loopholes.

And also that his old friend had just barely refrained from calling All Might by his civilian name right then and there; really, Hisashi _had_ always enjoyed pushing whatever boundaries that he found himself coming up against. Sure, it made him a bit harder to deal with, especially on the days when he was feeling playful – which given his temperament was more often than not – but All Might still enjoyed spending time with his old friend. In _that_ light, having Hisashi beside him as a Pro Hero was probably one of the best outcomes of the battle they'd all just participated in.

No one had died, and while it _was_ true that they hadn't been able to save Young Niseko and Young Eri from Kai Chisaki and his Shie Hassaikai, they would have the chance to make a new plan to save the both of them later.

_~MHA~_

When all of them had been gathered together to watch a news broadcast, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what kind of news they were all going to be hearing. With all forty of them – the combined classes of 1-A and 1-B – sitting together in the large media room that the Pussycats presumably used to stay informed about whatever was going on in the world around them, there wasn't all that much room to fit in anyone else. Still, having a room large enough to _fit _forty people in the first place, mild crowding or not, was kind of strange.

Izuku only had a couple of minutes to wonder what the room itself was actually used for, before a _very_ familiar person came on the news.

"Midoriya, is that your _Dad_?" Kirishima-san asked, leaning over with an expression of mixed curiosity and approval.

"Yeah," he said, wondering just why Dad had chosen to reveal himself, after so doing so much to keep himself and their family out of the spotlight that would now inevitably fall on them.

Not just because Dad had unmasked himself on national television, but because he was so clearly and closely affiliated with Uncle Toshi in his guise as All Might.

As the interview continued, the inevitable question of just why Dad – considering his work as Councilman Midoriya – had not only been willing to risk himself acting as a Pro Hero, but also why he'd concealed his identity for so long while he was operating as the Symbol of Hope.

"Wow, Midoriya, your dad is so manly!" Kirishima-san said, turning back to him with a plainly approving expression on his face. "He wanted to help people, but he didn't want you guys to end up being harassed by those reporters and all those other people, so he kept his identity secret!"

"Looks like he decided to step into the spotlight now," Kacchan said, narrowing his eyes at the screen, a contemplative air about him.

It _was_ kind of strange, since Dad wasn't really that fond of dealing with the media, even once removed the way he had to when Uncle Toshi would find himself accosted by the media.

"There must have been some enemy he couldn't defeat without revealing himself," Kirishima-san said, clenching his fists even as he turned back to watch Dad as the interview with him – and occasionally Uncle Toshi, when he had something to say, or else just when the crowd of reporters inevitably recalled that the _Symbol of Peace_ was right there in the room with them – continued.

"Yes," Iida-san said, arms folded across his chest as he contemplated the interview being broadcast in front of them. "That _does_ seem to be the kind of man he is."

"What's your take on this, Midoriya?" Kirishima-san asked, turning to look back at him.

"Dad probably _did_ end up running into someone he couldn't deal with any other way," Izuku said, turning to smile briefly at Kacchan as his long-time friend wrapped his right arm around his shoulders.

_~MHA~_

Swallowing chuckles as he continued speaking, Hisashi used Panoception to keep an eye on Toshi-kun while he did so. He'd often found himself wondering just how it was that Nana-chan's adopted son handled himself so well when _he_ found himself placed before the reporters that swarmed about those who had chosen to take up the title of Pro Hero like the proverbial flock of mewling seagulls, and now finding _himself_ faced with them, Hisashi found that they were both more annoying _and_ more amusing than they had ever been when he'd merely been viewing them second-hand through Toshi-kun's recollections. Still, the fact that he was essentially sacrificing the peace and happiness of his own family on the altar of public opinion _was_ rather troublesome.

On the other hand, finding himself freed of a great many of the constraints that he had previously been operating under somewhat made up for such a prospect; still, there _were_ other constraints that he was going to be operating under from this point on…

"However, in light of the new responsibilities that openly being a Pro Hero entails, I suppose I should take this chance to announce my formal resignation as a Councilman," he continued, smiling calmly as he watched the reactions of the veritable _sea_ of reporters that he and Toshi-kun – alongside the other Pro Heroes who had been working alongside the pair of them, of course – were facing down during these very moments.

_~MHA~_

Holding his grin in place as best as he could, reminding himself once again of what Nana-sensei had said: a Hero should smile, no matter what, to put the people they were trying to save at ease. And sure, they weren't facing down Villains at the moment, but they _were_ trying to reassure the public after everything that had happened. Turning his eyes toward Hisashi, finding himself more than a little curious about just what his old friend was planning, All Might tried to gauge his old friend's mood.

Sure, he probably _wouldn't_ have the time to take care of all of the responsibilities of a Councilman, now that he'd revealed himself as a Hero, but he'd done a lot of good. His advocacy for the remaining Quirkless population had managed to influence enough people that the reforms that he had proposed would probably go through, and at least the influence Hisashi had built up within the House of Councilors would remain. Really, revealing himself as the Symbol of Hope would probably _help_ the reforms that he and the people he'd gotten close to during the time he'd spent working in the House of Councilors had worked to pass.

Keeping his grin firmly on his face, All Might stepped forward to take the mic as one of the reporters called upon him.

"I'm glad you asked!" he said, grinning all the wider as he wrapped his left arm around Hisashi's shoulders. "I've been supporting Sensei here ever since the two of us met, six years ago," he said, delicately sidestepping the particular _events_ that had brought them together, since it wasn't as though anyone who had lived through the Rosaru Massacre could actually _forget_ it. "He wanted to keep his identity a secret for the sake of his family, so of course I was willing to respect that."

Wondering for a moment if he was going to be called on to say anything else, but finding himself shifted aside as Hisashi retook his place at the microphone again, All Might settled himself down and waited for this conference to be over; more than anything, he wanted to get back to his students.

_~MHA~_

As soon as word of the broadcast had come in, Skeptic had informed him that there was something of interest to him in particular, and so ReDestro had set aside his work for the moment. Finding that Harvest had at last chosen to reveal himself to the world at large, ReDestro began composing an invitation for Harvest to bring his family to visit Deika city again. With Harvest taking his first _proper _steps onto the world's stage – small as they ultimately were, but even small steps could add up to something large, given enough time and the right direction – ReDestro hoped that he would finally be able to convince Harvest to take his _true _place in the world.

The only _truly_ fitting place for a man whose Meta Ability allowed him to strip Abilities from those who had been deemed unworthy, and in turn to grant them to those who had – like poor, flightless birds – _not_ been born with Meta Abilities of their own: the very crown of the world. Harvest, the man who had been born with the most powerful Meta Ability in the world, was hence the only one truly fit to reign over the world. Even young Genesis, the son of Harvest who had doubtless been trained to follow in his footsteps, was far too gentle to take up such a task.

ReDestro had sometimes found himself wondering just what had drawn Harvest's gaze to Genesis' mother in the first place; it was the reason that he intended to invite not only Harvest but the rest of the man's family, as well. It was _possible_ that the woman's Meta Ability had drawn Harvest's eye, but ReDestro hadn't been able to determine just what the woman's Meta Ability was, not without first obtaining the name she went by. There was another reason, as well: ReDestro had found himself curious about the man who seemed to have made a home for himself beside Harvest.

First and foremost, ReDestro wished to know if Harvest had granted the man a Meta Ability of his own; poor, flightless bird that he was, the last time the pair of them had met.

_~MHA~_

"All right," Aizawa-sensei said, making his way to the front of the room, turning the TV off as he stepped in front of it. "I know this is a strange situation for all of you, but you're all here to train and improve your Quirks," Aizawa-sensei continued, sweeping all of them with a firm, unimpressed gaze. "I expect all of you to keep working as hard as you have been, but for now it's time for dinner."

Their group broke up after that, though the conversations remained on the announcement that had just gone out. Once both his fellow students in class 1-A and class 1-B had finished dinner – both fixing it _and_ eating it, though Bambaa-chan and Kota-kun didn't have to participate in the preparation phase, since both of them were guests – they all split up to make their way to their respective dorms.

"Looks like things are going to be getting annoying soon," Kacchan grumbled, making his way over to where their sleeping bags had been laid out next to each other.

"I guess," he said, unzipping his sleeping bag so that he could climb in.

"Come _on_, nerd," Kacchan grumbled, shoving him so he fell down into his unzipped sleeping bag. "You, Uncle 'Sashi, and Auntie are going to be buried under a damn _avalanche _of reporters, now that Uncle 'Sashi had to tell everyone about what he's been doing since the night you guys brought Sis home," Kacchan said, carefully talking around what had actually _happened_ on the night that Dad had taken Bambaa-chan into their home.

It was what pretty much everyone did, sure, but there were times when Izuku found himself wondering if that was really a good thing.

"Yeah, we probably are," he said, sighing softly.

There wasn't much question that Dad was going to call on Gigantomachia, now that their family had been forced so completely into the public sphere. As he and Kacchan settled down into their respective sleeping bags, Izuku found himself drifting off _into what looked like the same kind of black, foggy space that he'd seen once before, back when he'd first been given one of Uncle Toshi's hairs, to see if he could maybe make a copy of One For All._

_Looking around, Izuku thought for a moment that he could see a crowd of shadowy figures with bright, glowing eyes, before a familiar, white haired form drew his attention._

"_Uncle Shiro!" he exclaimed, grinning as Dad's little brother made his way over to where he'd found himself standing, nearly as soon as he'd managed to fall asleep._

_He didn't quite know if it was because he'd been thinking about what else might happen, now that everyone knew that Dad had been the Symbol of Hope from the very beginning, or if there was something about the interaction of One For All and his own All For One._

"_I'm glad to see you again, Izuku," Uncle Shiro said, smiling as he made his way to sit down on what looked like a bench, beckoning Izuku to sit down next to him._

_It looked like a shadowy bench that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but Izuku knew that he was dreaming, and so he didn't think that kind of thing was _too_ weird._

_Once he'd settled down next to Uncle Shiro, Izuku felt a familiar pair of hands settling on his shoulders for a moment, before sliding down over his shoulders as Dad gave him a hug._

"_Hi, Dad," he said, leaning back as his father kissed him on the head._

"_You _still_ haven't told him my name, Hisashi," Uncle Shiro grumbled, though there was a certain air of playfulness that lingered between him and Dad._

"_It's what _I've_ always called you, Shiro," Dad said, chuckling._

_Uncle Shiro sighed, shaking his head as he settled against Izuku's opposite side; somehow, Izuku had found himself sandwiched between the two of them, with Dad snuggling him from his right, and the more than slightly annoyed form of Uncle Shiro on his left._

"_You're such a pain, _Fluffy,_" Uncle Shiro said, though when Izuku looked back at his uncle, there was still an air of amusement about him. Sighing, Uncle Shiro turned to him, a small smile lingering on his face. "My name is Yuuichiro Shigaraki. It's good to properly meet you, Izuku."_

"_Ah," he said, feeling a bit silly and awkward. "Would you like me to call you Uncle Yuu from now on?"_

_His uncle chuckled, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "It's all right; I know you're not picking on me, unlike _certain people_."_

_Catching sight of the grin on Dad's face, Izuku huffed softly. "Dad, I don't think I managed to make a copy of One For All," he said, hoping both to distract his father from picking on his uncle, and also to find out what might have been going on with his Quirk._

"_Yes, it seems as though One For All, in addition to its inability to be removed involuntarily by my own All For One, but is also unable to be copied by your All For One. However, it also seems as though you _did_ manage to forge a connection to the vestiges within One For All."_

"_Yeah," Uncle Shiro said, smiling softly. "Daigoro-kun was really surprised when he and the rest of them all realized that there was someone else with us. Someone who _wasn't_ the next holder of the Quirk," his uncle chucked, reaching over to ruffle his hair…_

The next morning, once all of them had been basically kicked out of bed by Aizawa-sensei and Tiger of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, Izuku found himself brought out to the rocky plateau that he'd spent so much time in already.

"All right, kid," Tiger said – his gruff voice had always seemed to make it sound like he was grumbling in annoyance, or at least that was what Izuku thought – hands on his hips. "Don't think we're going to go easy on you, just because your Dad's the Symbol of Hope, kid."

He was just about to ask who else Tiger had called to help with whatever kind of work they were going to be doing on his Quirk, but then he looked back to see that Lynx was making her way up to where he and Tiger were waiting. Looking from Tiger to Lynx and then back again, Izuku found that he couldn't quite hold back a sigh.

"I'm surrounded by tall people," he grumbled, shaking his head.

_~MHA~_

Once he and Toshi-kun had managed to return home once more, Hisashi found himself rather amused by the way that Nedzu had been fully willing to contact him during the course of the press-conference itself, simply to offer him a new career as a U.A. history teacher. He'd of course accepted the offer, since it would allow him both to keep an eye on Izuku while his son was a school, and it would also allow him something of a break from the reporters who were now so amusingly eager to metaphorically dig through his life for nuggets of his past or his thoughts. Aside from that, of course, it would also give him time to speak with Gigantomachia as to how he was going to be required to handle the reporters that would inevitably be drawn to his home in an effort to speak with him in person.

As amusing as it would have been, to set his personal bodyguard on said reporters when they inevitably paid their visits, Hisashi was fully aware that such a course of action would have served to more than disrupt the peaceful life that he had built for himself and his family.

As he and Toshi-kun made their way into the halls of U.A. – both in the costumes that marked them as those who had chosen to use their Quirks to aid, guide, and protect the public; at least to hear Toshi-kun tell it – Hisashi found himself toying with the thought of altering the costume that he wore while acting as the Symbol of Hope. After all, he'd only added the armor and helmet to preserve his identity; to give the impression that, Panacea being the only Quirk that Sensei possessed, he needed the extra protection. However, now that he had stepped out of _that_ particular cage, he now had the option of revealing just a bit more of himself.

It was certain to amuse Izuku, as well, Hisashi mused with a chuckle.

"Well, good luck in there," Toshi-kun said, and Hisashi smiled. "He can be a bit much, sometimes."

Chucking under his breath, Hisashi leaned in so that he could speak to his old friend without _too_ much risk of being overheard. "Is that your way of saying that he reminds you of me?"

"Something like that," Toshi-kun said, smirking slightly.

Chuckling as he continued on his way to Nedzu's office, Hisashi took out his phone and sent off a text to David. After his meeting with Nedzu, he was going to speak to his and Toshi-kun's old friend. Now that he _had_ revealed himself, it was time to update the image he presented to the world.


	27. Ends and Beginnings

Looking up, he smiled as he caught sight of Hisashi Midoriya.

"So, you're the one who called me here, but would I be correct in assuming that you didn't call me here simply to discus my future employment?"

"That's correct, Mr. Midoriya," Nedzu said, smiling as he caught the hint of amusement on the man's face; All Might's descriptions _had_ painted Izuku's father as something of a kindred spirit, but he had honestly always preferred to make his own judgments when it came to people.

Humans had an unfortunately well-developed capacity for self-deception, depressingly enough.

"Well, I suppose I should answer you about your offer of employment before we move on to any other topic," Mr. Midoriya said, though there was a certain air about him…

Mr. Midoriya was as quick to agree to the offer he'd made as Nedzu had begun to suspect he would, and the pair of them were quickly able to agree on the subject.

"Now, what else did you wish to talk to me about?" Mr. Midoriya asked, the lingering amusement on his face clearing.

"Considering the recent resurgence of the Yakuza, and in particular the seething contempt that Kai Chisaki seems to hold for those with Heteromorphic-type Quirks," Nedzu found himself almost _forced_ to pause, as the memories of what he'd seen the previous night – the poor, wandering people who had been kidnapped from the Rosaru Ward, then clearly abused and altered until they had been reduced to the near-mindless living weapons that he'd seen that night – came back to him, he sighed. "I would like to have your permission to move Izuku and Bombalurina into the dorms I've been having set up."

"I'd have to consult my wife," Mr. Midoriya said, the small smile that had been lingering on his face fading away at last. "Do you intend to move _all_ of the students into these dorms?"

"That's correct," he said, nodding as he offered a smile to Midoriya's father. "I'm planning to send out the rest of the teachers while you're getting settled, in fact."

"Ah, that makes sense," Mr. Midoriya said, inclining his head slightly. "I'll speak with Inko-chan and get back to you, then."

"Thank you, Sensei," he said, smiling as Mr. Midoriya turned to depart.

_~MHA~_

Making his way back into the room where Pops and Niseko-chan were both sleeping, Chisaki found himself smiling softly as he looked down at the pair of them. He supposed it _was_ rather sentimental of him, tucking Niseko-chan into the same bed where he'd set Pops down to rest while he developed the cure for the disease that had infected so much of society – to say nothing of the Hero syndrome that had spread in its wake – but without the sentiment that tied him to the Shie Hassaikai, and Pops in particular, Chisaki didn't know what kind of person he would have become. He'd no real _desire_ to know, either.

Dismissing those thoughts, after a moment of allowing himself to linger in his nostalgia, Chisaki reached down to pick up Niseko-chan's mask from the side-table where he'd laid it down before putting Niseko-chan down to sleep. Lightly grasping the mask's ear-loops, Chisaki leaned down to scoop the pure child himself up from his spot next to Pops.

"I hope you enjoyed your time with Niseko-chan, Pops," he said, smiling gently under the mask that protected him from the disease and impurities of the present day. "I hope I have the chance to properly introduce you two soon," he continued, turning to make his way out of Pops' room at last.

Arriving once again at the room that he had set aside for Niseko-chan, Chisaki smiled as he set the pure child down on the large bed that he'd had brought in for him when he'd picked out the room where Niseko-chan would be staying. Removing his gloves, Chisaki folded them neatly and set them down on Niseko-chan's new side table. Cradling the pure, silver-eyed child in his arms for a long moment, Chisaki stroked the right side of his face before pressing his right hand to Niseko-chan's head and moving his left hand to the boy's back.

Restoring Niseko-chan to full health, in just the same way he intended to do for Pops when he'd finally managed to cleanse the world of the disease called Quirks, Chisaki brushed his right hand through the long, floppy brown hair that he'd been considering cutting ever since he'd first taken note of it when he'd taken Niseko-chan into his care. Niseko-chan's hair seemed to be only a few shades darker than his own, and the only thing that _truly_ distinguished the pair of them – aside from Niseko-chan's brilliant, silver eyes, of course – was the length of the child's hair.

Smiling under his mask as Niseko-chan's silver eyes fluttered and opened slowly, Chisaki cradled the back of his head, stroking his soft hair for a long moment as he considered what he was going to do next. Yes, there were still the matters of the Hassaikai's efforts to cure the disease of Quirks and the Hero syndrome that had spread in its wake, but the simple fact was that he also had the responsibility to look after Niseko-chan. He'd taken the child into his care after the diseased society that he intended to repair had thrown him out, so in the end it _was_ his responsibility to see that Niseko-chan grew up properly.

"I'm glad to see you again, Niseko-chan."

_~MHA~_

Raising an eyebrow as he heard the familiar ringtone that he'd set for Toshi-kun, Hisashi set down the paperwork he'd been filling out and turned his attention to his phone.

"What is it, Toshi-kun?"

"I'm starting to wish you could've been here," Toshi-kun said, and from the tone of his voice, Hisashi could tell just where his dear son's favorite uncle had just been; and perhaps even still was, depending on just how troublesome he had found his present situation. "You've always seemed to be able to deal with Mitsuki better than me."

He chuckled. "Yes; Mitsuki-chan _does_ take a bit of handling. Are you nearly finished?"

"I'd say I'm about halfway through, or so," Toshi-kun said. "Though I have Aizawa with me, so it's going faster than it probably would have otherwise," Toshi-kun said, and Hisashi took a moment to firmly grip his phone with a telekinesis Quirk. "How's your progress on your paperwork?"

Hisashi chuckled, himself. "Reasonably well. Depending on how long _your_ task takes, I might very well be finished before you return."

_~MHA~_

The sound of heaving, shuddering breaths, over the familiar, desperate, shuffling footfalls of a man he had come to know rather well drew Shin's attention, and he turned to see the scrawny, gangly form of one of his fellow Bullets.

"Nurikabe," he called, making his way over to the man; as per usual, Nurikabe was feeling his way along the wall to his left.

It had something to do with the way his particular strain of the disease that Master Overhaul sought to eradicate; something to do with the reason that Nurikabe had come to them in the first place, but Shin could admit – if only to himself – that as long as Nurikabe served the Hassaikai to the best of his abilities, he wasn't particularly interested in the specifics of such a thing.

"Nemoto," Nurikabe gasped, raising his head in an almost convulsive manner. "I- Do you think I could speak to Overhaul?"

"What do you wish to discuss with _Master_ Overhaul, Nurikabe?" Shin asked, emphasizing their boss' proper title ever so slightly, to remind his underling of their respective places, while at the same time pressing the man with Confession, to make certain that he wouldn't be able to avoid answering.

"I wanted to know if he'd made any progress with the cure," Nurikabe said, sinking down against the wall as though he had no more strength to hold himself up.

"Master Overhaul is still hard at work," Shin said, folding his arms as he stepped closer; Nurikabe always possessed a lean, hungry look about him, and given the way his underling always seemed to be shaking… "Go eat something, Nurikabe."

Nurikabe actually _chuckled_ at the suggestion, though admittedly it _was_ a rather sickly sound. "I can't," he seemed to force himself to say. "I haven't been able to eat; not since I was four and this…" Nurikabe reached up, gripping the top edge of his pale yellow and orange mask. "_This _happened to me."

Before he could suggest that Nurikabe simply return to his room, Shin turned as he heard the sound of someone else making their way down the corridor towards him.

"Tabe," he said, turning toward the white-masked man with the rope around his neck.

"Nemoto," Tabe said, nodding to him, then turned his attention to the shuddering form of his close friend. "Come on, Hikaru; let's go back."

"Right," Nurikabe said, pushing shakily off of the wall where he had been leaning, making his slow, hesitant, way up to where Tabe was standing, before the pair of them made their way back to the room that they both shared.

Turning, Shin continued on his own way into Master Overhaul's office. The boss was going to be busy for awhile, considering what was currently going on, so he had asked Shin to look after little Sezu while he was hard at work. Shin had, of course, been perfectly willing to help him take care of the boy. Not only was little Sezu pure and untainted by the disease that Master Overhaul intended to eradicate, the boy was also truly enjoyable to spend time with purely on his own merits.

"Nemoto," Master Overhaul said, turning to him with a soft expression in his pale, yellow eyes. "I'm glad you came so quickly."

"Of course, Master Overhaul," Shin said, smiling under his mask as he made his way over to where little Sezu was seated, smiling under his mask as he leaned down to peer at the child he had become so fond of during the course of the time the pair of them had been able to stay together. "Come along, little Sezu. I'll take you back to your room, and then you can decide what we do after that."

Ruffling little Sezu's hair, Shin gently pulled the pure, silver-eyed boy down from Master Overhaul's lap. Wrapping his arm around the boy's thin shoulders, Shin held little Sezu close as the pair of them made their way back to his room. Once the both of them had arrived there once again, Shin ushered little Sezu back into the sleeping quarters that Master Overhaul had set aside for him as soon as they had all made their way to this place.

"All right, little Sezu, have you eaten?" the boy nodded, and Shin found himself lightly grasping little Sezu's shoulders to prevent him from folding in on himself the way he seemed to be trying to do. "Good. So, what _would_ you like to do?" he asked, pressing lightly on the child's mind with Confession; truly, it was for the best that he kept little Sezu's uncertainty from silencing him, the way it seemed to do more often than not.

"I'd like to leave," little Sezu said, shuddering in his grip.

"_Leave_?" Shin asked, reaching down to brush away a tear gathering in the corner of little Sezu's left eye. "Where would you go, little Sezu? Back to the shelter, where Chronostasis found you? You couldn't _possibly_ have been happy there, were you?"

"I- No, not really," little Sezu said, face crumpling as Shin pressed on him with Confession. "No one there really seemed to know what to do with me."

"There, you see?" he asked, reaching up to gently stroke little Sezu's hair. "This is the only place you _truly_ belong. Master Overhaul is very fond of you, and so am I. Still, if you truly wish to go outside, I could speak to Master Overhaul about that. Would that make you happy?"

"I guess… I mean, it'd be nice to see the sky again," little Sezu said, slumping forward into his grasp.

"I'll go speak to him, then," Shin said, smiling under his mask as he gently stroked little Sezu's lengthening, dark-brown hair.

He wondered, for a moment, when or even if Master Overhaul would choose to do something about little Sezu's appearance. There _were_ more than a few commonalities in appearance between Master Overhaul and little Sezu, with the clear exception of little Sezu's silver eyes – an obvious contrast to Master Overhaul's pale gold – and his hair that was a few shades darker. It _was_ rather interesting to contemplate, what changes Master Overhaul might choose to make to little Sezu's appearance.

_~MHA~_

Chewing his lower lip, Izuku looked back down at the form he and the rest of his schoolmates had been asked to fill out. The Wild, Wild Pussycats had handed them out when they'd finished with their training for the day, telling them that it had something to do with the Provisional License Exams that would be held later, but he didn't quite know what it was. None of the people he'd asked had, either.

Still, all of the people he'd asked _were_ his fellow students, so there was still a chance that someone else would know what was going on.

Sitting back, Izuku sighed softly as he set down the last of the papers he'd finished filling out.

"_Finally_," Kacchan grumbled, slapping down the last of _his_ papers and slumping down on his own chair. "I knew we were going to have to deal with this shit when we finally got our Hero Licenses, but I was hoping that we could at least get away from it _here_."

"I guess they want to get us used to this kind of thing," he said, scooping up the papers he'd been working with, straightening them out so that Ragdoll – who was coming around with a stapler – could affix them all together.

"Good work, kittens!" the cyan-haired woman exclaimed, grinning widely at them. "Now, you all just need to get these forms into the box, and then you can all head down to dinner!"

"Great, _more_ work," Kacchan grumbled, as he, Izuku, and the rest of their classmates all got up from the tables they'd been seated at.

Once they'd all handed in their forms, and finished cooking and eating dinner, Izuku heard the sounds of laughter and then caught sight of Ochako-san striding quickly past him.

"Ochako-san?" he called.

She stopped for a moment, turning to look at him as a bright, red blush spread slowly across her pink-cheeked face before she hurried off in the direction of the room where the girls of 1-A and 1-B had all been put up to sleep. Blinking, turning briefly in the direction that Ochako-san had gone, Izuku huffed as he followed the sound of two familiar people laughing. Sure enough, Tenko-nii and his friend – one of his two unofficial partners, alongside Keigo – Touya were leaning against the far wall, laughing with each other.

"All right, what have you two been up to?" he demanded, folding his arms and frowning up at Tenko-nii and Touya.

"Nothing, Zu-chan," Tenko-nii said, grinning down at him; it was the same kind of look that Dad would give Uncle Toshi when he was teasing him. "Nothing at all."

"Right," he said, narrowing his eyes up at Tenko-nii. "I'm sure you weren't doing _anything_ to fluster Ochako-san, Tenko-nii."

"I mean, we _might_ have offered to pose topless for her," Touya said, grinning widely. "And then, I _might_ have implied that I could get you to join in," Touya said, grinning in the same kind of unrepentant way that Dad and Tenko-nii did when they were teasing him or Uncle Toshi.

Swatting the both of them firmly on their right arms, Izuku shook his head as he turned to make his way back to the room where the boys of 1-A and 1-B were all sleeping. Rolling his eyes, as he heard Tenko-nii and Touya start laughing again, Izuku walked away. Kacchan turned to look at him, as Izuku made his way back into the room once more.

"What's going on, Zuzu?"

"Tenko-nii's being a butt again," he said, plopping down next to Kacchan so that the both of them would be able to have a conversation without bothering too many people.

Kacchan chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like Mophead."

Lightly shoving Kacchan as his old friend laughed, softly enough that they wouldn't disturb too many of their fellow students, Izuku settled into the sleeping bag that he had brought with him when they had all come to this compound in the first place.

_~MHA~_

When their family had all managed to gather together again, once he'd managed to talk the last of the students' parents into letting their kids move into the dorms that Principal Nedzu had set up in an effort to protect all of U.A.'s kids from the Shie Hassaikai, Toshinori sighed as he settled down into the chair at the largest of the tables their family owned; it'd been pulled out just for this occasion, just so all of their family would be able to eat one, last dinner all together.

"Toshinori?"

"Sorry, Kotaro," he said, turning to smile at his adopted younger brother. "I was just thinking; this is going to be the last dinner all of us are going to be able to have together for awhile."

"I know," Kotaro said, a melancholy expression spreading over his face. "We won't be able to meet up like this until the kids' next summer vacation."

Hisashi chuckled, bringing all of their attention to him. "I know you've never quite approved of the work we all do, Kotaro-chan, but there's really no reason for you to worry so much."

"Considering what _already_ happened to Tenko…"

"The only thing that _truly_ happened to Tenko-chan was his hair turning white, Kotaro-chan," Hisashi said, smiling as he plucked up another piece of katsudon.

"He _still_ can't deal with enclosed spaces," Kotaro said, shuddering as his thoughts presumably turned back to the day they had come back home to see Tenko, Izuku, and Touya all gathered together, Izuku with his bright, green wings wrapped around Tenko in a clear effort to comfort him. "Though I guess he _did_ get to be better friends with Touya-kun."

Reaching out to wrap his left arm around Kotaro's shoulders, even as the pair of them continued eating, Toshinori sighed. It _was_ going to take some getting used to, being away from everyone who lived here; every member of the extended family that Hisashi had gathered around him when he'd decided to make his home here. It would be strange, living away from Inko, Nana, Kotaro, and Nao.

Still, he _would_ still be as close to Hisashi, Izuku, Bombalurina, and Tenko as he'd gotten used to being, since all of them were going to be moving onto U.A.'s campus together; even though the reason they were all doing it wasn't really one that he liked thinking about, and there had been more than a few times that he'd found himself wishing that none of this had happened at all. In the end, though, it _had_ happened, and now they all had to adapt to it. Still, having all their kids in one place would probably help.

_~MHA~_

Once their training camp had _finally_ ended and they'd all piled back onto the bus, Izuku still found himself mildly dissatisfied.

"Still thinking about those Ultimate Moves, nerd?" Kacchan asked, smirking slightly.

"Yeah," he said, sighing softly as he slumped back in his seat, looking down at his hands as he considered what he was going to do next. "I just can't stop thinking about how _easy_ it is for Dad. _He's_ got so many more Quirks than I do, and _he_ shuffles through them so easily. He even stacks them, three or even four at a time, and they're all different ones, too," he couldn't quite stop himself from sighing again, but he turned at the sound of Kacchan chuckling, ducking as his oldest friend ruffled his hair.

"Uncle 'Sashi's an old man, and _you're_ just a tiny little nerd," Kacchan said, smirk widening into a grin as he let Izuku go; Izuku scowled and stuck out his tongue. "You'll just have to grow up a bit, _Baby_ Zu."

"You're the worst, Kacchan," he grumbled, biting back a grin as he folded his arms and slumped back down in his seat.

"Chin up, Midoriya!" Kirishima-san exclaimed, popping up over the back of his seat with a big, wide grin on his face. "We'll all be able to help you with your Ultimate Attack! Heck, since we're all going to be living together, we could help you get the hang of all the Quirks you got from us!"

"That's nice of you, Kirishima," he said, grinning back as Kirishima-san turned around and sat back down in his seat.

Once all of them had made it back to U.A., Izuku found himself faced with a tense-seeming Aizawa-sensei, and Tenko-nii; his big brother was lightly chewing his bottom lip. Izuku had a feeling that he knew roughly what Tenko-nii was thinking, since even though they _had_ ended up having to move away from home he, Dad, Uncle Toshi, Bambaa-chan, and Tenko-nii had all been able to stay together through all the upheaval. So, there were good things and bad things about their present situation.

He just wished that Bambaa-chan's parents, and the rest of the people from Rosaru hadn't ended up being captured and tortured by those Yakuza; he'd read that the Yakuza were supposed to be more honorable that that, for all that they were involved in organized crime, but…

Shoving those thoughts out of his mind, as Aizawa-sensei detailed just what their lives were going to be like, now that they were all going to be not just working but _living_ together, Izuku found himself more than a little surprised to hear that the students with Heteromorphic-type Quirks in class 1-C were going to be divided up between the dorms for classes 1-A and 1-B. Still, not many people in class 1-C had the kind of Quirks that were useful in combat, so it was probably a good thing that they were being brought in.

Bambaa-chan had, of course, been put up with 1-A, but the more surprising fact was that Shinsou-kun had been moved into their dorm as well. Sure, Shinsou-kun _had_ made it pretty obvious that he was trying to get into the Hero Course, but… It was just kind of strange to think about.

Tenko-nii informed them all that their luggage had been delivered to the dorms already, so the only thing they really had to concentrate on was setting up their rooms the way they wanted them, ruffling his hair as he followed in Aizawa-sensei's wake. The smile on his face let Izuku know that Dad was probably getting settled in, too. Izuku had already been considering the likelihood that Dad would come to visit him, now that all of them were living _and_ working together, but now he was almost _completely_ certain that that was what was going to happen.

_~MHA~_

Once all of them had finished with the damned, annoying scutwork, Katsuki rolled his eyes as Raccoon Eyes insisted on checking out all of the various rooms in their new dorms.

"You kids have fun," he said, smirking as he stood back up, turning to make his way out of the common area. "I'm going to get some actual _sleep_."

Ignoring the rest of his fellow classmates, since they were probably either calling him a party pooper or worrying about why he was leaving so soon – even though he'd tried to make it clear that he didn't do social unless he was sparring – Katsuki rolled his eyes as he made his way back to the room he'd been assigned. Probably just this morning, or something like that. It was pretty fucking weird, thinking about the fact that he'd gone to a summer training camp with Zuzu and the rest of their class, setting out from home the way they always did, and then ending up all bunking together not only at the camp itself, but also after they left.

Sure, everyone knew _why_ they'd had to move onto the U.A. campus – and he was going to make doubly sure to look out for Sis, since it had to suck, being reminded of what had happened to her Pops, before Uncle 'Sashi had taken her in and their entire family had basically adopted her, too – but Katsuki couldn't say he was exactly all-in for the idea. Honestly, he was kind of surprised that Uncle 'Sashi had gone in for this kind of thing. Given how many Quirks Uncle 'Sashi could use against anyone dumb enough to try attacking him or any of his family.

Not to mention the fact that there would also be Gigan to get past, if anyone _did_ try anything.

_~MHA~_

When all of them made it to Bambaa-chan's room, Izuku found himself smiling at the almost awed reactions of a lot of his fellow students.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting this much space stuff!" Ochako-san exclaimed, seeming almost to smile wider than anyone else in the room. "I didn't know you liked astronomy and space so much!"

_/You like this kind of thing, too, Ochako?/_ Bambaa-chan asked, ears perking up as she turned to Ochako-san.

"Yeah!" Ochako-san said, practically _bouncing_ over to where Bambaa-chan was standing, next to the small telescope that either she or Dad had brought with her from home; most likely Dad, since Bambaa-chan had been staying at the training camp with them, too. "It's great to meet someone else I can talk to about all this stuff!"

Smiling wider as he watched his sister and Ochako-san bonding over what was clearly a mutual love of astronomy and the kinds of things that could be found in space, Izuku found his gaze drifting back to the strange theater-light looking thing sitting on top of the bookshelf next to Bambaa-chan's desk. He still wondered just what it actually was, since Bambaa-chan wasn't really the type to keep something like that in her room.

"Hey, Midoriya-chan, what's that on your shelf?" Kirishima-san asked, before Izuku could articulate the question for himself.

_/Oh, that?/_ Bambaa-chan asked, ears perking up again._ /Hmm, it'd probably be easier if I showed you. Can one of you get the lights?/_

Once Bambaa-chan had fetched the stage-light looking device, and Iida-san had turned off the lights, Izuku found himself staring up in awe at the star field projected on his sister's ceiling.

"You have a mini planetarium projector, too?!" Ochako-san _squealed_, and Izuku was almost completely certain that if he activated one of the vision-enhancing Quirks that Dad had given to him, he would have seen just the biggest smile on her face.

_/Yeah,/_ Bambaa-chan said, purring softly. _/I saw it in a store somewhere. I thought it was kind of cool, and the next thing I knew, Papa bought it for me./_

Izuku chuckled softly. "That definitely sounds like Dad."

_/There's one more cool thing I can show you guys,/_ Bambaa-chan said, sounding cheerful.

The sounds of buttons and switches, seemingly being punched in a different sequence than what Bambaa-chan had used before, drew Izuku's attention to a steadily lightening corner of the sky. The sight of an artificial sunrise, coming up over what looked like the silhouette of a forested pair of hills, drew more awed gasps and exclamations from his fellow classmates. Smiling as he watched the projected sun come up, Izuku folded his arms behind his head as Iida-san flicked the lights back on. Their lives might have taken a few strange turns – and a few sad ones, too – but they had all survived.

They were going to be Heroes, so this was just another step.


End file.
